Thank you Dr Pope
by Hydrangeasia
Summary: Olivia was the doctor who operated on Fitz the night of his assassination attempt. He wakes up 2 weeks later and is totally blown away by her. Total smut and fluff as we explore the beginning of their relationship under different circumstances.
1. Chapter 1

"Dr. Pope we have a patient enroute to the hospital, we need your help."

"I'm sorry, I have a brain surgery in New York the day after tomorrow that I have to leave for right now and I also don't work here, where is the lead surgeon?"

"He told me to come and get you."

Olivia sighed, partly from exhaustion but also from frustration. She took the trip to D.C to help her friend Stephen operate on a patient with a part of knife blade stuck in the back of her head. They couldn't remove it without damaging her optic nerve, subsequently blinding her, so he called Olivia and begged her to get on a plane as fast as she could to perform an additional surgery for the patient. They had successfully completed the surgery hours ago but Stephen wouldn't let her leave. He often counted in her expertise, though he had been a doctor longer than her, she was a better doctor than him. While Stephen was a trauma specialist and operated on er trauma victims, Olivia was a neurosurgeon. A very good one at that, she had been recognized for performing impossible procedures all over the world on patients with dire odds. She knew the human body like she knew her own name and because of that, Stephen never second guessed her instructions.

"What do we have?" She asked.

"We have a white male, 45 years old, 6'3, 195 pounds. Multiple gunshot wounds to the head and chest. Severe blood loss and going into hypovolemic shock."

"I need the procedure room prepped."

"Right away Dr. Pope. He is two minutes away."

Olivia still had her scrubs on, she ran to the doctor's lounge and washed her hands and grabbed some gloves and a surgical apron them she ran back out to the hallway only to bump into Stephen.

"Stephen what the hell, you know I have a flight to catch back to New York. You can remove bullets, why do you need me in this?"

"Liv, it's the president and he's in bad shape, I can do this but you can do it better, I'll assist but you've got to spearhead this thing."

"President Grant?" she asked with her mouth open.

"Yes, he was just shot at his birthday gala, he's a minute away."

In that moment, the paramedics burst through the double doors with Fitz on the stretcher. They both ran into the surgery room that was three doors down and once Fitz arrived Olivia was started working her magic. It was what she was known for.

"Get me a blood type on the patient, we will need a transfusion stat."

She used two fingers and tapped his chest at 4 different points.

"His chest cavity is not clear, get me a thoracostomy tube and a scalpel, I need to drain the blood from his chest. Turn him to the side, I don't want him suffocating on his own blood."

Right then Fitz began to flatline.

She grabbed the paddles from the nurse.

"Charge!" Olivia ordered and the nurse followed her order immediately. She waited for the paddle to charge to 200 joules and then shocked him.

"Clear," they yelled simultaneously.

His heart beat came back.

"Stephen drain the blood and get the bullet out of his chest."

"But Liv-"

"Steph do it now."

She moved toward his head and began inspecting the gunshot wound, she could see the bullet in the right frontal region of his skull.

"Okay, pass me the instrument stand, we're going to remove the first bullet."

The nurses hurried over with the instruments. She covered her mouth with her mask and made sure the light was shining directly on the wound. She took a deep breath and began. First, she removed the small bone fragment blocking the bullet, she did that as quickly as she could then she grabbed a pair of forceps to remove the bullet. Once she did that, she inspected the wound and made sure it was clear before she cleaned it and sewed it up. Then she went back to help Stephen, he hadn't been able to remove the bullet as yet but with a little help from Olivia, he did.

Olivia wasn't sure where time went but by the time they finished, a few hours had passed. She was so tired she felt like she was on autopilot.

She left the nurses to clean him up and bring him to his hospital suite then went back to the doctors lounge to clean herself up. She was covered in his blood and needed to get it off herself as quickly as possible. The secret service had been hovering over her to get an update on his condition, she heard the First Lady, chief of staff and the president's son were out there as well and she knew that they too, would want an update.

She took her surgical cover off and she washed her hands and headed back out.

She walked to the waiting area with Stephen in tow to the secret service agent that had been hounding her.

When Tom saw her coming, he began to worry, her expression was unreadable. He didn't know if she had good or bad news. He escorted both her and Stephen over to Cyrus and Mellie.

Once they reached over both Mellie and Cyrus stood anxiously, Gerry didn't move from where he sat but the grief he was feeling was written all over him.

"Hello Dr, how is he doing?"

Both Mellie and Cyrus stretched their hands towards Stephen.

"I think that question would be better posed to Dr. Pope, she was the neurosurgeon who took the bullet out successfully.

Mellie's mouth opened slightly in embarrassment for her assumption that Olivia was a nurse.

"My apologies, Dr. Pope. How is he doing?" she said with the best fake smile she could muster to hide her embarrassment.

Olivia never got tired of embarrassing people, she fought off the smirk that tugged on the corners of her mouth.

"He's stable."

Both Mellie and Cyrus tell out a huge breath of relief.

"We managed to remove all the bullets from the head and chest. The swelling in the brain is minimal and is decreasing rapidly. Right now, he's in a coma-"

Mellie didn't let her finish.

"A coma? You can't be serious. How long is it gonna last? Will he be normal again."

"Every patient is different, in my experience, in these types of scenarios a coma for a brain injury can last indefinitely but I believe he will be awake in 2 weeks."

"Are you sure Ms. Pope? Do you think we should get a second opinion."

"Dr." Stephen corrected.

"I'm sorry, Dr., Dr. Pope." Mellie corrected herself.

Olivia could see that Mellie was frazzled and decided not to take offense, after all her husband was just shot in the head, she couldn't be in a good place.

"I'm sure. He will be alright, you are almost out of the woods, now it's just about waiting for him to wake up."

Olivia spoke with a confidence that calmed them both.

"And he will be normal right?"

"Well, if the bullet had peered any deeper and hadn't been properly removed, he might have been paralyzed, had permanent amnesia or lost his motor skills, luckily that's not the case. He will make a full recovery within 5 months. He might experience some headaches up until 2-3 months but with these types of injuries, that is normal. He can return to work after a month. He can exercise after 2 months."

"And his face is normal? He looks the same?"

She looked over at Stephen.

"Thank you, Dr. Pope and Dr.-?" Cyrus interrupted.

"Finch," Stephen stated.

"Dr. Finch, I can't tell you how much we appreciate your help today. You guys are miracle workers. Can we see him?"

"Yes, you can," Olivia affirmed.

Cyrus gave them an appreciative nod and stepped off to make a call.

Olivia and Stephen excused themselves and went back to the doctor's lounge.

"You're are on your own with her," Olivia chuckled.

"Don't leave me…" Stephen whined.

"I should have left last night but I stayed to help with your patient when I have my own patient in New York who needs me so now I'm leaving."

Stephen chuckled.

"Can you believe that we just saved the president of the United States life as if you weren't successful enough."

"Honestly, I think you could have handled it by yourself, quit doubting yourself man."

"It's not that I doubted myself but he had a gunshot wound to the head and you're the best neurosurgeon in the world, what the hell was I supposed to do."

"You have been doubting yourself since your patient died last month. Stop Stephen, you can't save everyone, sometimes people are beyond saving and you just have to accept that," her tone was softer, more nurturing.

"You're right but it was a kid, it's always hard to lose kids."

"Yea, I know."

"Shut up, no you don't, you've never lost a patient."

"Okay but I'm imagining what it's like and it must hurt," she laughed.

She went to the bathroom and changed out of her scrubs and grabbed her things to leave. She knew she would have to come back and fill out a few document in regards to the surgery but it could wait a couple days until she was finished with her patient in New York.

"Alright Stephen, good luck with all of this, you'll need it," she teased.

She gave him a quick hug and then made her way out the lounge only to bump into Tom.

"Excuse me."

"No worries," Olivia responded.

She tried to pass but he wouldn't let her.

"What's going on?" she asked him a little confused.

"I can't let you leave the hospital."

"And why is that?"

"Mr. Beene requested that you solely care for president Grant."

"It doesn't seem like he's requesting, it seems like he's telling me to."

Tom didn't reply.

"I don't have anything against the president, I'm sure he's a great guy but I have a surgery scheduled in 20 hours and it's in New York, I already made a commitment to do it so if you'll excuse me."

Tom blocked her again.

"I can't let you leave."

"Listen I haven't slept in 2 days and I really don't have the energy for this, let me pass," Olivia demanded.

Cyrus saw the commotion and walked over.

"Tom what's going on?" He asked.

"What's going is that I have places to go and I'm being told that I can't leave. Do you care to explain that?"

"I've just done a little research on you Dr. Pope, you are quite special, an anomaly, you are the being called the best neurosurgeon in the world and you just successfully took a bullet out of our president's head. We can't let you leave, stay a while, make sure that he's intact when he wakes up and his brain is functioning normally, we'll pay you whatever you want."

"I appreciate the offer but no thanks, my colleague Dr. Finch is more than capable of caring for the president."

"It wasn't an offer."

Olivia chuckled at his absurdity.

"You're serious?"

"I am. You can leave the hospital if you wish but I will have you escorted by two agents to make sure you come back."

"I'm not agreeing to this, the president's life isn't more important that the 3 year old who will die if I don't fix her brain, now if you'll excuse me Mr. Beene, I have a plane to catch."

"It's unfortunate that I have to do this."

Cyrus sighed.

"Tom please detain this woman."

Tom took out a pair of handcuffs from the holster and attempted to handcuff her.

"What the hell? Are you crazy?"

Tom grabbed her hand and put one cuff on.

"What are you charging me with?"

"Nothing, yet, maybe a couple weeks in a cell in the pentagon will help me figure it out."

"That's illegal."

"You're a lawyer now?"

Olivia scoffed. She had both hands handcuffed now.

"Take her away Tom," Cyrus said with a smirk.

"Fine, I'll do it," Olivia relented.

Cyrus smiled winningly.

"It's gonna be great working with you Dr. Pope."

Olivia didn't reply she just huffed.

"Take these cuffs off before anyone sees me like this," she demanded.

"Right away ma'am."

Once Tom took the handcuffs off, Cyrus had her sign a standard non-disclosure and contract then she made her way back to the lounge get to get the keys to Stephen's apartment so she could shower and rest for the night. She was pissed.

* * *

 **Two weeks later.**

Fitz woke up to an empty room. The last thing he remembered was walking out of the limo and waving to the crowd, everything after that was a blur. He knew he should have called the nurse but he wanted to take a minute to appreciate the fact that for however long he was asleep, it was the best sleep he could remember getting since his teens. He liked the quiet as well, he hadn't gotten any peace and quiet since he became president a year and a half ago. He was content to just sit in his hospital bed and stare at nothing in particular.

Meanwhile, Olivia made periodical checks to see when Fitz would wake up. Two weeks ago, she told told his family he would be waking up now and she was usually on point with her predictions, it was just about the time now.

She walked into his suite, to find him awake.

When Olivia walked into the room, Fitz breath got stuck in his throat. He'd never seen a more beautiful woman. He was almost a little embarrassed by his reaction, it was unusual for him. He was used to seeing beautiful women all his life, when he got married to Mellie he learned to ignore them but he couldn't ignore her.

She had a clipboard in her hand and she didn't look directly at him as she walked in. She seemed annoyed and apathetic to Fitz, he thought maybe she was tired.

"How long have you been awake?" She asked as she jotted down some notes.

"Half hour maybe," his voice was raspy and hoarse.

She pulled a small medical flashlight out of her lab coat pocket and walked over to him. When she looked up and caught his eyes, she was stuck on them, she couldn't look away. Fitz was just as captivated, moments went by and neither of them moved.

Olivia fought a strenuous inner battle to look away but her attempt was futile. It wasn't until they paged her over the intercom that they were able to break the spell that bound them both.

Since Cyrus had her marooned in D.C, she had been working on trauma patients in the hospital to help Stephen while she waited for Fitz to awake.

She cleared her throat and flick the light on. She shined it in his eyes and checked his response to it then jotted something on her clipboard.

She turned away from him so she couldn't see his eyes.

"Why didn't you call a nurse?"

"I've just woken up from the best sleep I've had in 20 years, I wanted to take a while to appreciate it," he chuckled softly.

He seemed so kind and laid back, nothing like Cyrus and Mellie, whom she'd had the displeasure of working with for the past 2 weeks. Based on her experience with them she had made him out to be even worse in her mind but now she felt a little bad for judging him for their behavior.

"Any pain or discomfort?" she asked, a little kinder this time.

"A little discomfort in the chest and a slight headache."

"I'll have the nurse give you a slightly higher dosage of ibuprofen."

Olivia stood in the middle of the room, jotting down notes but she had a hard time focusing on exactly what she was writing, she couldn't stop thinking about his eyes. She stood there for some time, Fitz watched her, he decided to get her talking again.

"What happened to me doctor?"

"You received three gunshot wounds. One to the frontal lobe, and two to the chest cavity. I removed the bullet from your brain with minimal damage, right now you will have fatigue, irritability, headaches, aphasia and difficulty with impulse control but it won't be permanent. As for the chest wounds, in the two weeks you were asleep, they have healed quite well. You can be out of here within a week."

"That's great to-"

Fitz looked up in confusion and wondered why the word he was looking for wasn't coming to him then he chuckled.

"I'm sorry, I forgot what I was about to say.."

"Don't worry Mr. President, like I said, it isn't permanent," she added with a small smile.

Her smile, made him smile.

She walked to the end on the bed and poked the sole of his feet.

"Did you feel that?"

"Yes."

She walked over to the table and picked up a chart with pictures.

She pointed to the first image.

"Mr. President, do you know what this is?"

"A ship."

She pointed to something else.

"This?"

"A butterfly."

"What about this?"

"A pebble."

"Okay good."

"Where is my family?"

"Your son was here this morning but he had to leave for summer school, he's been here everyday, he pretty much just listens to music and stares at you." Olivia said with a smile.

"That sounds like Gerry. Do you have a phone, I'd like to call him."

"Sure."

Olivia pulled her cell out and gave it to Fitz. She thought having him remember the phone number and physically dial it was a great way to test his motor skills.

She watched as he dialed the number and gripped the phone in his hand. She jotted down some notes in response.

Fitz put the phone on speaker and placed it in his lap.

"Hello?" Gerry answered.

"Hey Gerry, it's dad."

"Dad, you're awake!" Gerry said excitedly.

"Yea, I woke up not too long ago."

"It's a about time dude. You know how long I've been waiting, oh god I'm so happy."

Fitz chuckled.

"Dad, I'm gonna see if I can get out of school early, I wanna come see you, you know how worried I've been. Are you in pain or anything?"

"Nope, they have me on the good stuff."

Gerry laughed.

"Does mom know you're up, it's weird that she didn't call."

"No, I called you first."

"She left the hospital?"

"Yea, she hasn't been here since I've been up? Was she supposed to be?" Fitz asked.

"She told me she was gonna stay with you but I'm sure she left to go to the white house instead. Her, grandad and uncle Cyrus are out fighting some death match with Sally Langston."

"Is that so?"

"Yea but don't worry, I'll be there as soon as I can. Love you dad."

"Love you too Gere."

"Wait dad, whose phone are you calling me from? I don't recognize the number."

"My doctor's phone."

"You mean the hot doctor with the curly hair? Dad she's so-"

Fitz face flushed red.

"Gerry, I think you're breaking up. I can't really hear you."

"Okay, don't worry. I'll be there soon."

Fitz waited for Gerry to hang up then handed Olivia her phone.

"Sorry about that."

"No worries, he's actually the only pleasant one out of the bunch."

Fitz chuckled.

"Who's a part of the bunch?"

Olivia pretended to think.

"Well, let's see, your wife isn't very pleasant. Your chief of staff threatened to throw me in jail if I didn't stay here and treat you and your guard Tom handcuffed me because he told him too, so let's just say they've left a bitter taste in my mouth."

"Cyrus tried to arrest you."

"He didn't try, he did."

"Wait why?"

"Well after I so flawlessly removed the bullet from your head and saved you from being paralyzed among other less favorable outcomes, I wanted to be on my way to help my actual patient who was waiting for me in New York but he wouldn't let me leave the hospital."

"I'm really sorry, no one should be forced to do anything against their will. I'll speak to Cyrus about this."

"Talking to him isn't going to bring back the 3 year old who is now brain dead because they had to find a last minute replacement doctor who couldn't correctly perform the procedure needed to save her life."

Olivia realized she was being a little harsh.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so harsh. It's not your fault."

"I can understand why you would be. I am really sorry that happened to your patient because of me."

"Hey, I didn't mean to drop all that guilt on you, don't worry about it okay."

She absent mindedly caressed his leg but then she realized what she was going and stopped herself. A little embarrassed by her unprofessional behavior, she quickly excused herself.

"I'll have one of the nurses call the rest of your family and let them know you're awake."

Before she could completely vanish from the room, Fitz spoke.

"I'm sorry, I didn't get your name."

"I'm Olivia, Olivia Pope."

"Thank you, Olivia pope, for saving my life. I can't imagine what I would have done without you."


	2. Chapter 2

"Gerry, it took you long enough," Fitz said with a smile.

Gerry practically ran over and hugged onto Fitz tightly.

They stayed there, quiet for a moment then Gerry let go.

"I love you dad, I'm really glad you're okay."

"I love you too buddy."

"Dad I'm 15, quit calling me buddy, it was cute when I was younger but I'm a teenager now."

Fitz chuckled.

"Just wanted to see if you were the same Gerry I remember."

Olivia walked in, she had her eyes on her clipboard.

"Okay Mr. President, the nurse called your family, they should be here shortly."

She looked up and saw Gerry.

"Hey Olivia," Gerry said boyishly.

"Hey Gerry, what's up?"

"Nothing just glad my dad's awake. Two weeks just like you said."

Olivia smiled.

"So dad, how do you feel?"

"I feel good, ready to get out of here any day now," he said with a smile.

"Not so fast, I still have a few more cognitive tests to run."

"Of course," Fitz replied.

A nurse ran into the room.

"Dr. Pope, we need you."

"I'm with a patient, can I have a few minutes."

"A 5 year old just came into the er with a compound skull fracture, his pupils aren't responding to light and he has blood discharge from his eyes and nose and he is seizing. Dr. McCall wants to operate but with your guidance," the nurse said quickly.

"We need to perform an emergency decompressive craniectomy…"

Olivia said as she sprinted out of the room, dropping her clipboard.

"She's always so busy," Gerry whined.

Even though she had long disappeared, Fitz looked on in admiration.

Olivia ran as fast as she could until she reached the er room. She looked down at the little boy.

"He has minutes, get him oxygen now."

"But she's breathing on his own?" the nurse questioned.

"Not for long. Do it now."

The nurse ran and grabbed the nearest oxygen tank and hooked him up as she was told.

Back in Fitz's room, he and Gerry had barely gotten time to themselves before Cyrus, Mellie and big Gerry walked in.

"Fitz, honey."

Mellie ran over in such a dramatic fashion that Gerry laughed.

She hugged Fitz and shot Gerry a glare.

"I'm sorry Mellie, that's just really unnecessary," Gerry said still unable to stop laughing.

Mellie hated when he called her that, especially in front of strangers but since it was just family in the room, she decided to let it go.

"Fitz how do you feel?"

"Great."

"Perfect because Sally Langston is trying to take your office, we need you to get out of here and show her that you're back."

"You are not serious Mellie?" Gerry said angrily from across the room.

"I am your mother, show some respect."

"I'll show some respect when you start acting like one, I might even call you mom."

"Alright that's enough Gerry," Big Gerry said from across the room.

He walked over to Fitz.

"My boy, we have to stop Sally, is there anyway you can get out of here?"

"I woke up 2 hours ago, I don't even know if I can walk. Dr. Pope is still running test and I'm not your boy, I'm a grown man, don't call me that."

Big Gerry chuckled.

"Just wanted to see if you were the same Fitz I remember."

"Where is Dr. Pope? Maybe we can talk to her," Cyrus asked.

"They called her down to the er almost about 25 minutes ago."

Cyrus sighed.

"They only reason I got her to stay here was so she could take care of you, why the hell is she down in the er and not here."

When Cyrus said that Fitz remembered what Olivia told him about her patient earlier.

"How exactly did you get Dr. Pope to stay here?" Fitz asked.

"I asked her nicely," Cyrus said wide eyed.

"Really? So if I bring Tom in here is that what he's gonna tell me?"

"It was necessary."

"I don't want to have to remind you again that you have no power to do what you did. A child lost her life because Dr. Pope wasn't able to operate on her. If I ever find out that you did anything like that again, I will fire you."

"Yes sir."

They all sat quietly in the room, feeling awkward that it had gotten so tense.

"So dad, how did it feel to get shot?" Gerry asked randomly.

"Gerry!" Mellie scolded.

"Calm down Mellie," Fitz turned to Gerry, "it hurt like hell, especially the chest wound. Imagine having the worst headache of your life along with feeling like there was fire in your lungs," Fitz said in a joking tone.

"Ouch," Gerry said with a chuckle.

After a while, Cyrus went back to the White House. Gerry got one of the agents to buy takeout and both him and Fitz sat eating. Big Gerry was busy making calls about Fitz, and Mellie sat quietly as Fitz and Gerry joked and laughed about mundane things that happened in the two weeks Fitz was in a coma.

Time flew, Fitz fell asleep and so did Gerry, Cyrus came back from the White House and after a few more hours, Olivia came back.

Immediately when Olivia saw Cyrus, her defense came up, she couldn't stand him

"Hello Dr. Pope," Cyrus greeted.

She didn't reply, instead she grabbed her clipboard that she dropped in the room earlier that had been placed on the table beside Fitz's bed. Fitz must've felt her presence in his sleep because as soon as she went near him, he shifted and woke up. Big Gerry walked in simultaneously.

"Dr. Pope, just the person I wanted to see."

"Mr. Grant?"

"So do you have a timeframe on when we can get him out of here, preferably tomorrow morning."

Olivia leaned her head to the side, a habit of hers for when she was confused and astonished at the same time.

"He will be here for at least another 3 days depending on how well he responds to the tests."

"That won't work, he has a country to run, we need him out of here sooner than that," Cyrus interjected.

"Cyrus!" Fitz scolded from across the room, Cyrus backed off.

"Unless you want the country to be run to the ground then I'm sure you can wait 3 days," Olivia snapped.

"Dr. Pope I'm sure you can release him a couple days early, what's your price." Mellie asked.

"There is none, you can take him - you could, but then I'm sure the press would want to know the state of his condition and want to be assured that he is in tip top shape and I wouldn't do it."

"Excuse me?" Mellie asked.

"You heard right. I would tell them that they have a president that just got shot in the region of the brain that controls decision making, impulse control and emotional stability and since I wasn't given the chance to assess his brain and gauge the damage done by the bullet, he is unfit to lead. I would tell them that unless they want a mentally impaired man running the country and capable of launching nuclear weapons on a whim, they should move to impeach him immediately and hand over the presidency to Sally Langston, as crazy as she is."

Gerry, Mellie and Cyrus stood with their eyes fixed on Olivia.

"You wouldn't dare," Big Gerry challenged.

"Try me, he'd be impeached by the weekend," Olivia challenged back.

Fitz chuckled breaking the stare down between them.

"Well I guess you guys have your answer. I'll be out of here in 3 days."

"What about Sally?" Mellie asked.

"What about her?" Fitz asked.

"You're being passive."

"I just got shot in the head Mellie because I went to a gala that you forced me to attend, sue me for actually trying to get out of here better than I came in. Sally is my problem, not yours, when I am discharged from here, I will take care of her, you are First Lady and this should be of no concern to you and that goes for you too dad," he directed towards big Gerry.

"Now, it's been a long day and Dr. Pope wants to finish running tests without you three questioning her methods so if you'll excuse us," Fitz dismissed them all.

"What about Gerry?" Mellie asked.

"When he wakes, I'll have an agent take him home."

With that, they all made their exit.

Olivia watched them leave and then turned to face Fitz.

"Sorry, I wouldn't actually tell the country to impeach you, I just needed to get my point across."

Fitz smiled.

"No, you're fine."

She pulled a chair to the side of his bed and took a seat.

"Is your patient okay?" he asked.

"Which one?"

"The 5 year old with the uhm - compound fracture."

"He is okay, right now he's in a coma but I was able to preserve brain function by cutting out a portion of his skull, apart from horrible scarring, the after effects will be minimal."

"What happened?"

"Horrible car crash, his mother and sister didn't make it but at least he has his father and his life."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," she responded.

"If you don't work here, well not usually, what do they do with cases like this when you are not here?"

"They operate, they don't have a choice but I suppose since I'm here, they take advantage of my uhm talents, I guess," she said with a chuckle as if she was laughing at herself.

"What is that you do? You operated on my brain and that patient had a skull fracture but you aren't just a trauma surgeon, are you?"

"I'm a neurosurgeon."

"You look too young to be a neurosurgeon, you look too young to be any kind of doctor."

"I've never heard that before," she teased.

He was about to ask another question but she cut him off.

"Enough about me. I'm going to ask you some questions and I need honest answers. If you can't answer, just tell me and I'm like a human lie detector so I'll know if you are forging answers."

"I won't lie, scouts honor."

"What time did you wake up today?"

"Uhm I didn't see the time when I got up but when the nurse came in after you left I asked her and she said 11:47."

"What size shoe do you wear?"

Fitz wrinkled his nose, he was trying to figure out why she was asking such random questions. She saw his hesitation.

"I'm the neurosurgeon remember? They are random, I know, but necessary."

"I'm a size 11."

"How tall are you?"

Fitz pondered for a second.

"6'3"

"Favorite song?"

Fitz pondered.

"That's a hard one, there are just so many."

"You only get one."

"Okay it would have to be 'The boys are back in town' by Thin Lizzy."

Olivia's eyes lit up.

" _Guess who just got back today?  
Them wild-eyed boys that had been away  
Haven't changed, haven't much to say  
But man, I still think them cats are great_

 _They were asking if you were around  
How you was, where you could be found  
I told them you were living downtown  
Driving all the old men crazy_

 _The boys are back in town"_

Olivia sang the first couple verses of the song and Fitz joined in halfway with the widest grin on his face.

"That was a good choice," Olivia joked, "the whitest song ever but there's no denying it's a great song," she added.

"You are without flaw aren't you?" Fitz asked incredulously.

"Trust me there are many."

Olivia decided to bring the conversation back to the subject at hand.

"When is your birthday?"

"July 27th."

"When is Gerry's birthday ?"

"January 19th."

"What day was yesterday?"

"Tuesday."

"What day is tomorrow?"

"Thursday."

"What year was last year?"

"2009."

"How old are?"

"45."

"In the line of presidents, what number do you fall?"

"44th."

"What is 17 plus 107 minus 7?"

Fitz did that math in his head.

"117."

"Show me your left hand."

He raised his left hand.

"What do you remember about the night of the shooting?"

"Hmm - well I remember the limo ride up to the venue. I was bickering with Mellie about the gala, I didn't want to go. When we pulled up to gala and I opened the door, I remember waving to the crowd then I heard the first shot. I felt it, it is was in my chest, the second one was in my head, I think. I remember Tom shoving me back into the limo and that's it. Everything after that was blank."

"That's good, that's a very vivid recollection of what happened?"

She paused.

"What is the first distinct memory you have?"

Fitz pondered for a moment.

"I remember it was my 5th birthday, my mother threw me a party in my kindergarten class, there was cake and ice cream and dancing. My teacher's name was Ms. Paton."

Fitz became somber.

"Good, that was good, your memory seems to be mostly intact but I'll ask you these same questions tomorrow and compare answers to see if they are consistent. I'll also do a personality test on you tomorrow as well as give you a CT scan and an MRI to see what's going on in that body of yours."

Olivia was about to get up but Fitz stopped her.

"Thank you again, Dr. Pope," Fitz said as he held on to her hands.

She gave him a small smile and squeezed his hand before heading out.

* * *

The next morning, Cyrus arrived early to find Fitz awake.

"Morning Fitz," he brought him breakfast and the file on Olivia Fitz had asked him to compose.

He handed him both, then sat in the chair next to his bed.

Fitz sat up in the bed.

"Whoa are you sure you can do that?" Cyrus asked.

"Yea, I feel fine and last night I actually walked to the bathroom."

"Really?"

"Granted it's only 9 feet away but that's progress, I was dizzy and out of breath when I came back but it's better than nothing."

Cyrus chuckled.

"Just be careful so Dr. uptight doesn't find out."

"What's the thing with you and her, why don't you like her?"

"It's not that I don't like her, I think in another life we might have been friends but right now she isn't be agreeable and that's an issue for me."

"You mean she's not rolling over and letting you walk over her so you feel threatened."

"Essentially," Cyrus admitted.

Fitz read though the first page of Olivia's file but stopped before he could finish.

"Cyrus where did you find her?" He asked astonished.

"We didn't, she was here and luckily you got here before she left."

"Gold medal at the physics Olympiad, MIT, she wrote her dissertation on the theory of using a particle accelerator to energize stem cells and implant them into the body to self regenerate, what does that even mean? How have I not heard of her, I'm the president for god sake?" Fitz asked incredulously.

"Read further because she actually did it. It's called the 'Pope technique,'. She's done it 11 times and was successful all 11 times. She's really picky about who she does it on though ."

"What's the Pope technique?"

"Apparently it's a procedure she created where she takes the patient's stem cells and accelerates them and then implants it into the brain or spine, uses laser therapy to speed up healing while they are in a coma and once they wake up, voilá, healed, of course they'll need more therapy to fully function but essentially they are healed. She made a man with a severe spinal fracture walk again with that procedure and also brought back a girl who had been in a vegetative state, that kid is now in middle school."

"That's impossible," Fitz said skeptically.

"It was until she did it."

"She's only 30, how did she manage to accomplish all this?"

"Not sure, apparently she's some kind of genius," Cyrus said dismissively.

Olivia walked into the room a few moments later.

She eyed Cyrus.

"You two are conversing, I'll just come back later."

"No, Cyrus was just leaving," Fitz said quickly.

"I was?" Cyrus asked.

"Yes, you were."

"At the back of that file is a briefing packet, everything you'll need to know before you get back. Happy reading," Cyrus said as he walked out.

"He is shameless," Olivia said as she took a seat.

"He wouldn't be Cyrus if he wasn't."

"How did you sleep last night, any nightmares or ptsd symptoms."

"I was in the navy, I'm used to getting shot at."

"Excuse me, navy man," she teased.

"You don't have to read that briefing he gave you, I'd actually prefer if you didn't."

"Actually it's not just a briefing packet, it's also a file on you."

"On me?"

"Yes, I asked Cyrus to compile one so I could find out about you but I would much rather just have you tell me."

"What do you want to know?"

She was slightly annoyed that he was digging into her past for info but also flattered so she let it go.

"How are you so smart, being an accomplished neurosurgeon at 30 isn't easy, not even for someone with above average intelligence."

"I don't have above average intelligence," she responded.

"What's your IQ?"

"215."

"That's impossible."

"No, I'm serious."

She kinda liked how every time she told him something, he acted as if it was the best thing he'd ever heard.

"That's brings us back to my original question, how are you so smart?"

"My father raised me as an experiment, to prove that geniuses are created not born. Turns out he didn't know what he was talking about because that's actually not the case."

"When you say experiment, what do you mean?"

"I mean, he began trying to teach me to read at 4 months old."

"That's a little extreme."

"Yep."

"So if he wasn't the one who made you smart, what did?"

"Well he did make me smart, sort of, he trained me I guess, I had the best schools, the best teachers and so, but umm... I was actually born a savant."

"You're a savant," Fitz said with wide eyes.

"Yea."

"Don't 'born savants' usually have a disability like autism?"

"Usually but I was lucky in that regard?"

"What does your savant syndrome allow you to do?"

"I remember everything?"

"What do you mean everything?" Fitz asked skeptically.

"I mean everything I've ever seen, heard, read, smelled, said…"

"You remember all of that?"

"Yep and I also have the ability to calculate large numbers in my head, I can measure distances in my head, I process information rather quickly."

"Give me your phone."

"Why?"

"Calculator."

She rolled her eyes and handed him her phone. He went to the calculator and began asking her questions.

"45 times 17?"

"765," she answered almost instantly.

"206 times 26?"

"5,356."

"186.2 times 184?"

"34,260.8. We can go all day, you know, I've been through this more times than I'd like to recall " she teased.

"Give me an example of how you can process information faster?" Fitz teased.

Olivia chuckled.

"I can read two pages at once and I remember everything I've read when done and I can do it in seconds."

"No way, absolutely impossible!"

She laughed loudly this time.

"No, I'm serious, I really can."

"Tell me more."

"What more could you possibly want to know? It's all very boring."

"Nothing about you is boring Livie."

She froze at the word 'Livie'.

"I'm sorry I mean Dr. Pope," Fitz said hoping that he didn't upset her.

"Why did you call me that?"

"I'm sorry, did I upset you?"

"No, no one's ever called me that, not since my mom."

"I really am sorry."

"No it's okay, you can call me Livie if you want to, I actually like it," she smiled.

Fitz was hesitant but decided to go for it.

"Okay Livie, tell me more. When did you first start talking.?

"It actually took me a while to talk, I was content to observe everything around me, I didn't talk until my first birthday, I said a whole sentence. I learned to read and do math at by 18 months, I knew about 5 different languages at 3. My father never gave me a break. I became a test subject and student at John Hopkins program for specially talented youngsters at 5. I spent two years there, then I went to about 5 different boarding schools across Europe. When I was 10 , I took the SATs and got a 2400 then I went to Harvard med and did my bachelor's and Medical degree at the same time. At 14, I got my master of medical science, my master of surgery, Phd; specializing in the brain and spine. At 18, I spent a year at MIT turning my stem cell theory into a tangible procedure and I perfected it while I did my residency. After my residency I was based in New York at Columbia hospital but I often travelled to my patient to perform whatever procedure they needed. After a while, I actually began doing doctors without borders, spent some time in Afghanistan, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, the Congo, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia, India and in a few months, I'll be spending about 2 months working in Angola, Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia and Iran. I'm very excited."

"Wow," was all Fitz could say.

"Yep."

"And they still haven't figured out how you became a savant."

"When I was a John Hopkins, some scientists thought that a mutation that allowed parts of my brain like the entorhinal cortex which controls memory to be further developed than a normal person, others think I was injured while in the womb and that's how I became a savant."

"It seems like in life, you got a good deal," he teased.

"I wouldn't say that, it's not all good. I had dyslexia, well, have."

"You do?"

"Yea, but that doesn't affect me, I wouldn't say I'm cured but I can't detect it anymore. I also suffer from extremely painful migraines."

"Migraines?"

"Yep, they are random but when I get them I pass out, I vomit, I get dizzy, I'm sensitive to light and sound, like if hear anything even a whisper, it feels like someone is stabbing me in my ear with a knife. I can't tell you how many concussions I've had from falling on my head during a headache, well I can...but you get it," she chuckled.

"Is there medication that you take for it?"

"I tried everything, neuro relaxers, nerve pain medication but it doesn't help."

"I know it's random but is it frequent?" he asked.

"Yep, sometimes it can be three times a day, sometimes three times a week."

"How long have you been getting them?"

"Since I was born."

"Wow, what does your mom and dad think about your headaches?"

"My mom is dead and my dad thinks that I should suck it up because greatness comes with a price."

She paused.

"I actually became a neurosurgeon to try and figure out a way to stop it. I have been to 42 different doctors since I was born to try and figure out why I get them but no one knows so I thought if I knew everything there was to know about the brain, surely I could figure it out, after all I figured out how to heal a spine, it shouldn't be that hard to figure out how to stop my headaches, but it is. I can't stop it, I can't slow it down, I can't make them less painful, I'm powerless and I'm afraid of my own body."

"You are not powerless, you are the most amazing woman I've ever laid eyes on. Dare I say the most amazing woman in history. These headaches, if you can't stop it then embrace it. It's a part of you, it's what makes you, you - How long does it last?"

She blushed at the fact that he called her amazing.

"Anywhere from 5-30 minutes."

"Whoa, that's a really long time."

"Yes, it's very fun."

"I bet you spend the whole day agonizing over when it's coming don't you?"

"Well yea. It's really painful," she chuckled.

Fitz pushed the sheet off his legs and and hopped off the side of the bed and stood in front of her.

"You shouldn't be standing."

"I know."

"You have about 1 minute before you get dizzy and have short of breath."

Fitz shushed her.

"Don't think about it. When the headaches come you welcome it, you fight through it and when it's over you go on living your life, that's the only way it'll get easier. Alright Livie."

"Okay wise one," she teased.

"Oh shut up - hold on, here comes the dizziness."

"Told you," she said nonchalantly.

"Show off."

The nurse walked in.

"Dr. Pope, the MRI room is prepped for the president."

"Thanks Bina, we'll be there shortly."

"Please don't tell me you are bringing me to the MRI room in a stretcher," he asked as he sat back in bed.

"Yes, we are."

* * *

Later in the afternoon, after the MRI and the CT scan were complete Olivia went back to Fitz's room to give him his personality and temperament test.

"Where is your family?"

"Mellie's busy concerning herself with my Vice President, so is Cyrus and my father. Gerry has a football game, we spoke on the phone."

"Okay well then let's begin."

She took her usual seat beside his bed.

"When you walk into a room, were to you feel comfortable most, in the middle or towards a wall?"

"Middle."

"Do you often wander off mentally and seem to others as distant and reticent."

"Not when I'm working, I have been told that by family though even though."

"Are your dreams fantasy filled or are they based in reality?"

"They are mostly what I would want my reality to be."

"Would you rather go to a social event or read a book?"

"Read a book."

"When you have to speak publicly, do you get anxious?"

"No."

"Are you sympathetic towards others feelings?"

"Only people I love."

"Do you plan or are you an improviser?"

"Improvise."

"Do you make decisions based on facts or feelings?"

"Feelings, if it doesn't feel right, I probably won't do it even though I have to take facts into consideration."

Olivia stood up.

"The MRI and CT results are positive, you are healing nicely and there aren't any unforeseen complications. Tomorrow we'll work on your breathing and walking."

She was about to walk out when he grabbed her hand.

"Why are you leaving so soon?"

"Let me guess you want to perform another round of interrogation on me?"

"So perceptive you are, Dr. Pope."

He let go or her hand, confident she wouldn't leave.

"Have a seat Livie."

She hadn't given any thought to what exactly was going on between them, she knew if she started thinking she would end up overthinking and turn it into a mess. She tried not to think about the fact that he was married and just enjoy their bantering sessions. She also knew that one of the reasons he might be so flirty is because his impulse control function was temporarily impaired. He seemed to be doing fine with everything else, he showed no sign of any impairment of any kind so she knew she was just making excuses, his impulses were fine for now. He knew exactly what he was doing and he was enjoying it but she couldn't blame him because so was she.

She sat in the chair and waited for him to start grilling her.

"Have you had any headaches since yesterday?"

"Uhm no."

"Great, I was worried about that."

"You worry about me?" she teased.

Fitz ignored her comment.

"What is your favorite movie?"

"Really?" Olivia chuckled.

"Just answer the question."

Olivia shrugged.

"Every Harry Potter movie ever made, every Star Trek or Star Wars movie ever made, I'm also a huge comic book live action movie fan, every Robert Downey Jr. Movie, he is just amazing as iron man. He's my celebrity crush."

Fitz pouted.

"Why can't I be your celebrity?" He whined.

"You're a republican."

"Here we go, let me guess, you're a democrat?"

"No, I'm a-political but I've read enough history and know about the rise and fall of enough civilizations to absolutely hate politics. All it causes is a chasm between civilians."

"That's actually a fair point."

"What is your favorite thing to eat?"

"I'm addicted to food, I have no favorite thing because I eat everything."

"Favorite band."

"That's easy, the strokes."

"Favorite song?"

"Fight the power by public enemy."

"Of course."

Olivia laughed.

"What shoes size do you wear?"

"I feel like you're just asking me the questions that I've been asking you."

"Just answer," Fitz said playfully.

"I'm a size 7."

"Favorite country you visited?"

"France."

"Did you always want to be a neurosurgeon?"

"No, I wanted to be a human rights lawyer."

"What absolutely scares you?"

"Not being able to save a patient."

"What did you eat for lunch today?"

"Grilled chicken salad."

"Are you single?"

"Why do you want to know?" she asked curiously.

"It doesn't matter to me either way but I'm curious to see if you can maintain a relationship with a job like this?"

"I am single. I've actually never had a boyfriend, never had time."

"I'm really happy to hear that but I'm curious, if you've never had a boyfriend how do you get your freak on?"

She slapped his leg, she felt as if she was talking with her best friend, only she was attracted to him.

"Hey, I don't need a relationship to do that and I thought you said it didn't matter to you either way."

"Maybe I lied."

"You know I might have to keep you here an extra day to get your impulse control back in check, I'm sure pre-head injury you would be ashamed of the obvious flirt you are being right now."

"Don't be so sure."

The nurse entered.

"Dr. Pope, we need you."

She got up from her chair, a little disappointed that their conversation had to be cut short.

"Duty calls Mr. President."


	3. Chapter 3

"Good morning mr. President."

"Good morning Livie. You didn't come back last night?"

"I was stuck in surgery all night, a four-year old found his dad's gun and shot his 15 month old sister in the head."

"Ouch."

"Yep, how did you sleep?"

"In the past two weeks, I've gotten the best sleep I've had in years, my dreams are even better than the actual sleep though."

Olivia laughed.

"Where is the motley crew?"

Fitz burst out laughing.

"It's that bad huh?"

"Yep."

"I gotta say, I love how honest you are, it's refreshing, people aren't usually honest with me."

"Well that's means that you don't have the right people around you."

"Why do you hate my motley crew so much?" he asked curiously.

"You want the truth?"

"Definitely."

"Okay, don't say it didn't warn you. I mean, I can understand why they fawn over you, you are their golden boy, the good-looking, charismatic, charming and smart candidate that won for them. That being said, they fawn over you for all the wrong reasons."

"Oh really? How do you figure that?"

"I study people's brains and human behavior, I know."

"Okay so what do you know?" he asked playfully.

"I know Cyrus follows you because you are his key to power. He can never actually win any sort of position in government on his own accord so he uses you. He has affection for you but the second you can't give him power or whatever it is that he can get from you, he'll run, maybe that will change but right now, that's what I sense. Your wife doesn't love you either, not even a little bit. You're her golden ticket, you are the husband she can show off, you give her status, recognition and wealth, the life she's always dreamed of. For that reason, she will never leave you or let you leave her for that matter, not unless something better comes along. She is envious of you, the fact that you are the star of the show, pretty soon she's gonna reveal that she wants to run for political office or something like that, she'll ask you to back her and you will because you feel guilty about not loving her. Your father controls you and you let him, he treats you like a project more than an actual human being. I can tell that it wasn't your idea to run for president, not that you aren't good at being president, you are but you hate it, you've been dreading going back to the white house since you woke up but your father is out there doing everything in his power to make sure that you do regardless of whether or not you've properly healed. His love for you isn't unconditional, the way a father's love should be. The moment you are no longer his perfect political son, he'll disown you. You are everything that he wanted to be, he won't just let you ruin that. When I came out of surgery and I spoke with them about your condition, all they cared about was whether or not you still had your looks and when you could start working again. If you didn't come out of this shooting perfectly functional they way you are now, they would've all left you without a second thought."

Fitz was quiet, he couldn't possibly reply to that.

"You're gonna get angry with me and lash out at me, tell me to mind my business or that I've pass my place, so before that happens I'm just gonna go. I'll have Dr. Finch finish running the tests."

Olivia turned to walk away.

"You're wrong."

His words stopped her before she reached the door.

"I'm not gonna lash out at you."

She turned around and smiled.

"I enjoy being wrong from time to time, especially moments like this."

"I know the kind of people they are, I know they'll drop me the minute I become dead weight but they're all I have."

"Like I said, you don't have the right people around you."

She walked over and sat at her usual spot beside his bed.

"Are you ready to start walking even though the nurses tell me you've paced in your room all night."

Fitz chuckled.

"Nothing gets past you, does it?"

He stood up from his bed.

"Deep breath, walk and touch that wall over there and then let me check your heartbeat."

Fitz walked to the wall, touched it and then walked back to Olivia. She pulled out her stethoscope and checked his heart rate.

"It's still a little quick, do that again and let me check once more."

He did as he was told and then came back to Olivia. She checked his heartbeat.

"Okay rest for a couple of minutes," she instructed.

"So what about the people around you?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, who's around you?"

"Well, I have my best friend Abby, she lives with me in New York, she's finishing her residency. Stephen works here, he's my oldest friend and my other friend Harrison, lives in New York, he's a nurse, he assists me during surgeries. Huck, my longest friend, does his own thing and I don't see him that often but we're close."

"Any siblings? Aunt? Uncles? Cousins?"

"No."

"What about your father?"

"We don't speak."

"Why not?"

"Because he's worse than your father."

Fitz chuckled.

"That's a great non specific answer."

"Okay rest time is over, I need you to remove your gown, I need to check your cavity."

Olivia put her gloves on and held two fingers in the air.

"Whoa, at least take me out to dinner first."

She looked at her hand and then back at him and erupted in laughter.

"Wait, you thought I was gonna ask you to-"

"Well, you seem like the kinky type," he chuckled.

"No, not that kind of cavity, I meant your chest cavity, and you only have to take the top half of your gown off."

Fitz pulled the string at the back of his gown revealing his torso and nothing else.

Olivia tried not to stare and Fitz could tell.

"Oh Please Livie, one quick peek won't kill you," he teased.

She slowly turned her head and face him. She tapped his chest with two fingers at four different points. While she did this Fitz stared directly at her, intent on making it as awkward for her as possible. Before she could move her hand, Fitz held it right over his heartbeat. She could feel the goosebumps under her lab coat.

"Do you feel that Livie? I'm alive because of you."

She stood with her hand planted on chest, her eyes locked on his. She had never felt anything like that before, the warm feeling that washed over her was indescribable. It took a while before she snapped herself out of the trance he had her in.

"Lay flat on the bed please. How does your chest feel?"

"Honestly, it doesn't feel bad."

Fitz did as he was told. She used the stethoscope to check his chest and then flipped him so she could check his back.

"Is it immature of me that everytime you say cavity, I think anal cavity " Fitz joked.

They both started laughing, relieving the thick sexual tension that had trapped them both minutes before.

"You're a little trouble maker aren't you?"

"Only when someone is worth the trouble," he chuckled.

"Well, your chest is clear, no fluids in there. You can put your gown back on and this time I'll turn my back."

Fitz rolled his eyes and pulled his gown back up.

"What's next doctor Pope?"

"Breath in then hold your breath while I count to ten then exhale, we will do a few sets of this."

When they finished the exercise Fitz laid back on the bed.

"How do you feel?" She asked.

"Good, I'm a little tired but I feel better everyday but this is the best I've felt since the shooting."

"You are very strong, not many people recover so quickly from an assault of that magnitude. You've shown steady process, with that being said, I'm going to discharge you today."

"Really? And here I was enjoying my vacation at James Madison hospital."

Olivia chuckled.

"I can't keep you here forever you know."

Fitz sighed.

"You could, if you wanted to."

"I'm a doctor first, I can't keep you here when there is no reason to, no matter how much I may want to."

"So where are you going after you get out of here?"

"Back to New York."

"When do you leave for Doctors Without Borders?"

"7 weeks and three days, why?"

"Because I'd like to hire you as my personal physician, I've suffered a terrible ordeal and I'd hate for my condition to go awry when I get out of here."

"You are healthy and your wounds are healing nicely, you don't need me anymore."

"I'm always going to need you."

Olivia pondered.

"I have a life in New York that I've been away from for three weeks."

Fitz threw his head back and grabbed his wound on his forehead.

"It hurts Livie," he cried out.

She grabbed his face and looked into his eyes.

"You're faking it."

"No I'm not, it's throbbing and it hurts."

"Okay lay flat on the bed, let me get some ice for your head."

Olivia was about to run out of the room.

"Wait-"

He called.

She stopped and turned around, his voice was normal now.

"Does this mean you're gonna stay in D.C. with me?" she could see the smirk tugging at his lips.

"You were totally faking it weren't you?" she asked incredulously.

"Worst performance of my career and you never doubted it for a second," He teased.

She walked over and slapped him lightly on the arm.

"Oh now you think you are some great actor huh?"

He chuckled.

"Fooled you, didn't I?"

She rolled her eyes.

"So does this mean you are going to stay?"

"No."

"Okay let's make a deal."

She sat in the chair, eager to hear what it is that he had to say.

"You stay in D.C until you leave for Doctors Without Borders, you can travel back and forth if you have any surgeries you need to perform-"

"That doesn't-"

Fitz cut her off.

"Wait let me finish, or I can stay here and fake this headache for two months and you'll be stuck here with me because according to the contract you signed with Cyrus, you have to. Either way, there is really no escaping me," he finished with a devious smile.

"I can't tell if you're serious?"

"I'm very serious."

"You can't be?"

"I am."

"You're crazy."

"For you, you're a great doctor," he teased

"I can't just leave my life in New York and move to another state just because you asked me to?"

"You know what I think? I think you want to do it?"

She tilted her head to the side and stared at him.

"Come on, it'll be fun."

She sighed

"I'm gonna regret this but fine, I'll stay and be your 'doctor'. This is so illogical, it's ridiculous."

She said as he smiled widely.

"Hey, not everything makes sense all the time."

* * *

After Olivia discharged Fitz that afternoon, she took the first plane back to New York to pack. She had never done anything so crazy before but it was fun, it was fun to be around him and for now she was just going to do what was fun, questionable, unethical but fun. She also knew that if she really didn't want to stay, he wouldn't have forced her. Her entire life she'd been walking to the beat of her father's drum but now that they were no longer speaking, she relished in her new found freedom. She had no idea what would come of her staying in D.C but she knew that if nothing else, it would be fun and she needed some fun in her life.

The plane ride was quick, she hoped in a cab from JFK airport and headed to her apartment on Central park west and 96th street. She had a beautiful view of the park that she never got tired of. She wanted to surprise Abby so she didn't call to let her know she would be coming home. She greeted her doorman and headed up on the elevator up to the 14th floor. She walked up to her door and opened it with her keys. As soon as she stepped into the foyer, the first thing she saw was Abby on her knees blowing some random guy.

"Abby," she screamed as she dropped her suitcases.

Abby gasped and jumped up.

"Liv, what are you doing here?"

"I live here."

"I know but what are you doing home so quick and why didn't you call."

"Uhm I wanted to surprise you but it turns out you surprised me."

She's seen Abby naked a million times, she didn't care about that part, she cared that the guy stood naked in her apartment.

"This is Paul," Abby said.

"Hi Paul," Olivia said as she tried to stifle the grin that tried to fight its way onto her lips.

"Uhm hi," he began scratching the back of his head.

"I'm gonna leave you guys to it."

She grabbed her bag and headed to her room.

"Great technique Abby, you are very thorough and Paul if you get jizz on my couch, I'm really gonna be pissed," Olivia teased and she disappeared into her room.

She closed the door behind her and dropped her things. Almost immediately, she heard Abby moaning wildy from the living room, she was definitely getting fucked. She put her headphones on and tried not to think about what was going on in the living room.

She laid in bed, waiting for time to past when her phone rang. She knew exactly who it was.

"Hello?"

"You know Livie, I remember asking you to call me when you landed."

She smiled widely.

"Maybe I just wanted to see if you'd call to check up on me."

She pulled out her headphones and put the phone to her ear.

"FUCK ME HARDER!" Abby screamed from the living room.

"What was that? Are you watching porn Olivia Pope," Fitz couldn't hide the amusement in his voice.

"No my best friend is fucking some guy in my living room," she said it so nonchalantly that it made Fitz laugh.

"Why is it so loud?"

"Well Abby's a talker and the walls are thin, so I'm all the way down the hall and I still hear everything."

"You make it seem like no big deal."

"It's just sex, I actually walked in on her, mid blow job."

"Really? What did you do?"

"I congratulated her in her technique and I made things awkward for them, on purpose of course but it didn't really work so I went in my merry way."

"Sounds like your afternoon was a lot more eventful than mine," he chuckled.

"What happen when you got back to the white house? Are you resting like I instructed you to? You should be in bed."

"Well no, I headed straight to the oval and broke up a meeting the Vice President called so that she could get the cabinet members to appoint her president, after that I made a speech."

"No. That's not gonna cut it. Where are you now?"

"I'm in bed now, I knew you'd have a fit if I wasn't."

"Good."

"What did you say in your speech?"

"SHIT PAUL I'M COMING," Abby screamed.

Fitz erupted in laughter but then he felt a pang in his chest so he tried to calm down.

"It's gonna be over in a sec," Olivia said flatly.

"What's really killing me is that it seems like no big deal to you."

"AAAAHHHHHHHHH," they moaned in unison.

"Let me guess, they came," Fitz said through the phone.

"Yep, Abby's gonna kick him out in about 2.5 seconds, she's notorious for hitting it and quitting it, I just hope that guy didn't cum all over my couch or my carpet for that matter, because that'll really leave a stain."

Fitz laughed loudly.

"For your sake, I hope so too."

"When are you coming back down here or did you trick me?" he asked.

"Would you be angry if I did trick you?"

"I'd be sad if you did, but I'd get over it because I would hop on air force 1 straight to New York. I'd wear a t-shirt with your face on it so everyone could see it then I'd show up at your door."

"Nice but unnecessary because I will be there for your check up in a couple days sir," she teased.

"Okay, I can't wait to see you."

"Me too."

Olivia could feel their relationship morphing into something different every time she found herself next to him or in conversation with him.

There was a knock on Olivia's door.

"One sec," she said to Fitz.

"Come in Abby."

Abby opened the door.

"Give me one second Abby."

"I'll call you back later okay."

"Okay."

She hung up.

"That orgasm tells me that Paul might be invited here for a second round."

"He's been here all week, I'm having African for dinner every night."

Olivia laughed.

"Where in Africa is he from?"

"I don't ask questions Liv, you know the rules. I only know what he tells me."

Olivia chuckled.

"I sure do."

Abby sat on her bed.

"So what's up? I take it the president is better since you are back here."

"We'll sort of, he wants me to stay in D.C. for a little while just to monitor him."

"You said no right?"

"No, actually I'm going to go back to D.C in a couple days."

"Why?"

"Just as a precaution."

"Alright," Abby said skeptically.

"When do you leave?"

"Monday."

"Okay, well then we have the weekend to have fun."

"Actually we don't, I called Harrison and told him that I was free this weekend and he scheduled me for a couple procedures so I'll be busy."

"You totally completely suck Liv."

"But you love me anyways."

"Sometimes," Abby chuckled.

Olivia rolled her eyes and then she felt a pang in the back of her head. The familiar pain that she dreaded. She immediately shut her eyes tightly and covered her ears. Abby knew the signs and as soon as she saw that, she turned off the lights and closed the draped to block out all light and sound from the room.

Olivia suddenly felt enveloped by dizziness, everything became foggy. She curled up into a ball on her bed and tried to ride through the pain like Fitz said. She didn't make a sound because use knew that even the sound of her own voice would send an unforgiving stab of pain through her ears. Abby knew that whenever she had her episode, she wanted to be left alone.

Olivia rocked back and forth in her balled up position on the bed and waited for her body to pass through the phases of throwing up and then probably passing out. Abby was on standby with the small pan Olivia kept in her room for whenever she couldn't make it to the bathroom to throw up, she tried to hand her, her earplugs but Olivia wouldn't move her hands from her ears. Once the pain hit her all hopes of walking or talking had to be abandoned because she physically couldn't do it anymore. Abby waited and when she heard gagging she ran over with the pan so Olivia could throw up in it. The gargles that filled the room brought on another set of pain for Olivia, all she could feel was the crippling pain vibrating through her head and the the ringing in her ears was deafening, a few minutes later she passed out cold.

She woke up the next morning, still feeling a little dizzy. She walked slowly to the bathroom and looked in the mirror, her eyes were red and her face was puffy, the way it usually was after one of her headaches. Usually she would spend a couple minutes feeling sorry for herself but not today, just like Fitz said, she was going to go on with her life. She washed her face, brushed her teeth and showered and then headed to the living room to find Abby. Abby was in the kitchen cooking up a storm.

"What are you cooking?" She asked.

"Bacon and hot cakes."

"It's actually called pancakes but whatever."

Abby rolled her eyes, every time she said the word hot cakes, Olivia felt the need to correct her.

"Uhm can I have some?"

"Of course you can, its for you."

Olivia was a little skeptical.

"The only time you cook me breakfast is when you want something, what do you want?"

"I wanted you to pay for my plane ticket so I could come with you to D.C. for a couple days to visit Dr. hottie."

"Okay but you need to throw some eggs on that plate too."

"Of course you want more food, greedy."

When Abby finished the plate, she brought it over to Olivia who was sitting on the high stool at the kitchen island. Olivia ate her food all the while quietly smiling to herself.

"What's going on over there smiley?"

Olivia snapped her head up.

"Nothing."

Abby stood up from her chair and walked over to Olivia and stared in her face.

"You met a guy didn't you."

"No."

"You did, why would you be smiling to yourself like that."

"Maybe I'm just happy."

"Happy you met a guy, yeah."

Abby's face lit up.

"Tell me."

"No," Olivia insisted.

"Tell me."

"Nope. My lips are sealed," Olivia got up from her stool and ran. Abby was like a dog looking for a bone when she set her mind towards something.

"Fold Olivia, you always do."

Abby chased her and managed to catch her before she locked herself in her room.

"No."

"FOLD, FOLD, FOLD, FOLD, FOLD, YOU COWARD."  
"Fine, I meet someone - sort of."

"Ah ha. Tell me all about him."

"Eww get off me."

Abby stood up and pulled her up.

"What's his name?"

Olivia froze like she had gotten caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"Keith."

'Damn it, so many other names I could have said,' Olivia thought.

"Eww Keith," Abby teased.

"That's it, conversation over."

"No, so tell me, did you blow him yet."

"Not yet."

'Shit, I'm never gonna blow him, he's married.' Olivia thought.

"But you have had sex with him right?"

"No I haven't, he's just a friend."

"Really, a friend has you smiling like that?" Abby asked skeptically.

"I wasn't smiling."

Abby ignored her.

"So, how old is he?"

"Mid forties."

"Silver foxes are so hot."

Olivia chuckled like a giddy schoolgirl.

"There it is, that smile. I've never seen you smile like that about any guy."

"He's funny, I don't know what you want me to say."

"What else?"

"I feel like I've known him for my entire life and I can tell him anything."

"You are totally whipped, is he hot?"

"He is so fucking hot, I can't stand it."

Abby laughed.

"See what did I tell you, you are totally whipped."

"No, I'm not, he's just my friend."

"You're friend whose face you wanna ride?"

"Maybe," Olivia admitted.

"Well that sounds like the start to a beautiful relationship., Abby teased.

Then it clicked to Abby.

"So that's the only reason you said yes to the president Grant thing, because you like some guy back in D.C.."

"No."

"You are moving all the way to D.C. for some guy?"

"Of course not."

"You totally are, I'm not judging, you have to do crazy stuff at some point in your life."

"I'll be back in 7 weeks Abby, it's not like I'm moving there permanently and since you have so much to say, let's see who will pay for your ticket to go see Stephen," Olivia teased.

"Dick move Olivia but I guess you are just trying to get rid of me because you want to there with your boo…"

"Fine, I'll buy the ticket but at least wait for me to get settled in before you come and wreak havoc on my life down there too okay."

* * *

Over the weekend Olivia made a reservation for a two month stay at an apartment hotel, essentially an apartment that didn't force leasing down everyone's throat, the apartment came fully furnished for living and you could stay for a day or a year, it was your choice to make. It was a gorgeous glass high rise near the D.C. waterfront, the area was residential and secluded. She had agreed to work at James Madison whenever she was available just to pass the time by. She'd been screening Fitz's calls just so he could be a little pissed off when she visited him at the white house, she thought it would make for an interesting conversation.

When she arrived back in D.C. mid Monday afternoon, the first thing she did was drop off her stuff at her temporary apartment, then she headed out to find a few things to make it more homely.

For one, she loved having canopies over her bed, she wanted to get a few throw blankets and small pail to throw up in whenever she needed to. She got a huge bohemian tapestry for her wall and a dream catcher. She bought a small sheepskin rug, a yoga mat and two mongolian fur pillows in white. She had all the things scheduled to be delivered to her apartment.

Everything in her work life had to be so clean and precise and perfect. Home was the only place she could relax, it was her haven so she always made sure it was nothing if not comfortable and lax.

She spent hours in the home store even though she didn't buy that many things. Once she was finished she grabbed lunch and then headed back to her apartment. She ate her double bacon cheeseburger and cheese fries and dozed off on the couch. She didn't wake until she heard the delivery man knocking her door at 6 in the night. She got up and ran to open the door. She signed for her bags and dropped them all at the door then went back over to the couch and plopped down and fell asleep again.

She woke up at 9pm and decided to begin decorating. It was a spacious studio apartment so everything was in plain sight. First, she tried to hang the tapestry on the wall over her bed, when she was finished, she switch the generic cushions they had for the new ones she bought. She laid out her rug and hung her dream catcher. It took her some time to hang her canopy and wrap her fairy lights around it. She was done by 11. She barely sat on the couch when she heard another knock on her door.

"Jesus christ it's freaking 11 in the night, who the hell-"

She stormed over to the door then checked the see who it was. A part of her was sort of hoping it was him and she was right. She opened the door, she immediately knew he was annoyed.

"Thanks for not returning my calls Livie, some friend you are."

She smiled widely.

"Wow, this is really happening," she teased, "how did you find me?"

"Please Olivia, I have the nuclear codes, all I had to do was search your name through the credit card database, track your purchases and then follow you here. Not hard at all."

Fitz was about to step in.

"Woah woah woah, take your shoes off, this is an Asian household, we don't do shoes in here."

He eyed her as he took his shoes off. When he was done he took a minute to look around her apartment.

"Oh my god, you're a hippie," he said incredulously.

"I'm not a hippie."

"You have a dream catcher over your bed, you're a hippie. I bet you eat hummus."

"Sometimes," she teased.

"I might be a hippie, but only when I'm at home."

"And the no shoes thing doesn't help either."

"Just be glad I let you in, how are you even here right now? Isn't this a national security hazard?"

"So dramatic."

He sighed.

"I did break a few rules to get here, but it's a small price to pay to come see you after you've been ignoring my calls all weekend."

"There it is. I was wondering when you were going to start on me."

He chuckled.

"So you did it on purpose?"

"And the look that's on your face right now tells me it was totally worth it," she teased.

"Well I just got shot and I'm fragile aren't you gonna offer me a seat?"

"Welcome to my home Mr. president, please have a seat," she said a faux southern accent.

Fitz rolled his eyes at her sarcasm and took a seat on her couch.

She took a seat beside him, not too close but not too far.

He finally got to take in her appearance, she wasn't showing him much, she had on a huge knit sweater and leggings.

"You look so different when you aren't in a lab coat and scrubs."

"You look so different, when you are dressed in an Armani suit and not in a hospital gown."

"How do you know this is Armani?"

"I saw it online a few months ago."

"Oh yea, the memory," there were so many fascinating things about her sometimes he had to remind himself.

"That reminds me, how have the headaches been? Have you gotten any since you told me about them?"

"2."

"When?"

"Well Friday at 7:52pm after we spoke when I had just gotten to my apartment and the second one was Saturday at 5:27pm just before I performed a surgery."

"You are very specific with the times?"

"Sorry, it's a habit."

"No, I think that's cool but how did you manage to do surgery after the headache?"

"Well we had to push the surgery half an hour back but remember that this is something I've been dealing with my entire life, I'm sort of used to having to pull myself together afterwards. If I was home I would probably passed out not woken up till morning but I had a job to do so I pulled myself together and did it."

"Do you always pass out?"

"Look at it this way, not every headache is a painful as others. There is a certain pain threshold the body can stand before the brain goes into emergency mode and shuts down the body to give you relief, whenever I pass the threshold, I pass out, if I don't pass the threshold, I won't pass out. It all really depends, I always get dizzy but I'll only throw up if I've had something to eat recently, it's all very relative."

"How do you feel right now?"

"Absolutely, perfectly fine," she chuckled.

"It's actually funny, whenever I'm around you, no headache. Before you woke up headaches one behind the other, once you were up nothing then as soon as I left for New York I had two. Wouldn't it be funny if you were my cure all along?"

"Then you could never get rid of me."

"I might have to because you are an entirely different headache all on your own."

"Shut up."

She got up and picked up the burger bag that was on the coffee table in front of the couch and threw them in the bin.

"What did you have a for lunch?"

"A double bacon cheeseburger and cheese fries."

"I like a woman who can eat."

"It's all about balance, I had salads three days in a row, I thought I'd treat myself."

A question had been weighing on her mind for days and she thought maybe it was finally time to ask him. She walked in front of him and stopped.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"I want you to be honest with me?"

She paused.

"What's the real reason you asked me to come here, I know it's not because you wanted me as a medical adviser."

"What if the truth scares you?"

"You can tell me."

"I asked you to stay here because I don't wanna be away from you, not even a little bit."

She blushed.

"Well...the only reason I took you up on your offer was because I didn't want to be away from you either."

She plopped herself on the couch.

"I suppose for now this will suffice."

"For now," Fitz added.

He had serious plans for her but he didn't want to make her privy to them just yet.


	4. Chapter 4

Olivia walked up to the gates of the white house. She had been invited there years before to receive a Presidential hero medal after her first successful stem cell implant but she declined in protest of the Iraq war. Now she stood outside the gates, waiting on line, as nervous as ever. She had never really been a nervous person, not since she was younger. When she learned what her mind was capable of, she developed a sureness in herself. She was always sure of what she said and did but around him she always second guessed herself, not in a bad way, in a way that excited her because she had never felt like that around anyone else.

She stood on the line waiting to get up to the security gate. Once she reached the window, she smiled politely and began.

"Hi, I'm Olivia Pope, I'm here to see the -"

"Olivia Pope, the president is expecting you. I have a guard here to escort you up."

"Really?" she said with a smile.

"Yes, I have your clearance pass right here - here you go."

Morris handed her the security pass.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome Ms. Pope."

Once she finished speaking with Morris, an agent walked over and escorted her up. She walked through the halls of the white house until she reached the oval. Tom met her right at Lauren's desk.

"He is an a meeting right now but he'd really appreciate it if you could wait in his office for a few minutes until he can join you."

"Uhm okay."

She leaned in so only Tom could hear her.

"Am I allowed to be in his office alone?"

"No, but I'm just following orders."

She smiled.

"Okay."

He walked over and held the door open as she walked in, then gave her a nod and excused himself.

She took a moment to take in the office. She dropped her bag on the couch and walked over to his desk and picked up the framed picture of him and Gerry on what seemed to be a ski trip. Gerry looked about 7 years old in the picture and Fitz was in his late 30's. She walked around the room, looking at the pictures on the walls, trying to kill time.

Sometimes she mentally kept time in her head whenever she waited, it was exactly 4 minutes and 22 seconds before she heard Fitz's voice in the hallway.

"Lauren, is she in?" she could hear him ask.

"Yes, sir."

"Great! Make sure no one disturbs me Lauren. My food will be here shortly, have Gustav knock."

He headed straight for the door in long strides, he opened the doors and walked in. She was on the far side of the room. He saw her from behind, he was pleasantly surprised.

"Olivia?"

She turned around to face him and chuckled.

"Why did you say it like that?"

"Nothing, you look … different."

"Not very."

He took her in carefully, he noticed things about her that he'd never notice on any other woman. She had heels on, black suede pointy toed ones, they looked expensive. She wore navy blue skinny chinos that she cuffed at the ankle, they fit like a second pair of skin. Her legs were toned, she had a small gap in between her thighs, something he'd never noticed before, maybe because the scrubs she usually wore her so huge. She wore a white crew neck t-shirt with just the front slightly tucked into her pants while the rest hung loosely. She had the slightest cleavage but even then he could tell that she was well endowed, more than he had expected in his wildest dreams. Her hair was different, it wasn't in the natural curly state that she had worn it in before, it was straight with soft curls at the end and it passed her shoulders but he could tell that she cut it. Her skin glowed, her lips were soft and pink and her lashes went on for days.

"Are you done staring?"

She said breaking him from his haze.

"I was staring?"

"Yes," she said with a chuckled.

"Sorry."

"Don't be, neurologist remember, your behavior is natural and I'm pretty sure I can tell you everything you just thought about."

Fitz took that as a challenge.

"Oh yea, what was I thinking," he said as he walked closer.

She walked over and sat in the couch, he did the same thing.

"You just looked me over and compared what my body is to what you thought it was."

"Wow, it's really scary how good you are at your job."

She blushed at his compliment.

"I didn't mean to look you over like that, must've been awkward for you.."

"It wasn't that bad," she flirted.

Fitz smiled.

"Are you hungry? I can have the chef bring something up."

"Oooh chef - fancy," she teased.

He rolled his eyes.

"No, I just ate with Stephen."

Fitz nodded, he was going to leave it alone but then he decided to just be honest about his thoughts.

"What's the deal with Stephen? Are you guys just friends or is it something more?"

One evening when Olivia came to check on Fitz back at the hospital, Stephen accompanied her. He watched how Stephen hung on to her every move and every word. He had the look in his eye that told Fitz he had the hope that their relationship would evolve into more that a friendship, Olivia at the time seemed oblivious to it, but now that Fitz new how intuitive she was, he knew that she was definitely aware of Stephen's feeling towards her.

"No, Stephen and I are just friends? Why would you think we were more?"

"He wants more than a friendship with you, you know that right?"

"He doesn't," she lied.

"Olivia," he scolded, like a parent demanding their child tell the truth.

"Fine, I know of Stephen's feelings towards me," she admitted.

"You guys have been friends for a long time, why didn't it turn into something else?"

"I could never genuinely reciprocate the romantic feelings Stephen had towards me. I let him know that, I thought it was better to be honest and hoped he would understand and well, he did."

"He might have a agreed to just being friends but he still wants more."

"Okay love guru, you want to talk about my love life? Let's talk about yours. What's the deal with you and your wife?"

"What do you mean?"

"Now who's acting clueless?" she teased.

Fitz sighed.

"Me and Mellie don't see eye to eye, we never did."

"So why did you get married?"

"Ah yes, the infamous question 'why did I get married?' I was 27 when we got married, it wasn't the traditional, boy meets girl, they fall in love get married and have children sorta story."

"I have no plans, I'm all ears."

Fitz settled in his seat.

"It was a political marriage, one day I was home and big Gerry called me downstairs and there she was. We stood beside each other for all of 5 seconds before Gerry started making wedding arrangements."

"So you too never dated or anything?"

"No never, we married 6 months after we met."

"Obviously you two must've had some attraction to each other, you two have a child."

"I paid her."

"You what?"

"I paid her for Gerry."

"Don't just say that and not explain."

"I was guaranteed one child in the prenup, one child and she got a couple million."

"Wow, so you are really in an arranged marriage?"

"There was a time when we sort of accepted what it was, we tried to get along, tried to make it work. I think she loved me at one point but I never loved her back and she ended up resenting me for it then eventually just down right hating my guts and now here we are."

Someone knocked the door.

"Who?" Fitz asked.

"It's the server sir…" Lauren said loudly.

"Come in."

The server came in with a tray of food and placed it on the coffee table in front of Fitz.

"Thank you Gustav."

Gustav gave him a nod and a smile.

Fitz pulled the cover off the plate revealing a huge t bone sirloin steak and glass of scotch beside it.

"Uhm what is that?" Olivia asked.

"It's steak, do you want me to have them bring you one?"

"Uhm you're not eating that, you were going to drink scotch for lunch?"

Gustav was about to walk out when she stopped him.

"Gustav can you please take this steak and bring a salad instead."

"Uhm-" Gustav nervously looked at Fitz.

Fitz shook his head trying to tell him not to do it.

Olivia realized what he was going and stepped in the line of vision between the two.

"Gustav look at me, take this steak back and bring a salad instead, have the chef add spinach, romaine lettuce, grilled chicken, hard boiled eggs, carrots, avocado and mozzarella cheese and a glass of cranberry juice."

Gustav tried to look back at Fitz for approval but Olivia stopped him again.

"Thank you Gustav."

Gustav turned around and hurried with the tray of steak.

"Is that what you've been eating the past few days? Steak and scotch?" she said as she took a seat in the couch.

Fitz was annoyed at her for taking his food, he had no intentions of eating whatever salad they brought up.

"It's a free country isn't it?"

Olivia chuckled and crossed her legs waiting for the food to come back. They were silent for the 18 and a half minutes it took Gustav to come back with the salad, awkward was an understatement.

Gustav walked in nervously with the new tray of food, we quickly placed it on the table and walked out. Olivia removed the cover from the tray.

"This looks great, dig in."

Fitz folded his arms and leaned back.

"I'm not eating this."

"Why not?"

"Well I'm not a rabbit so I'm not sure why I'm eating a whole bunch of leaves."

Olivia smiled at him.

"I'm not arguing with you about this, you are going to eat this. You got shot less than a month ago and you need a healthy, all inclusive diet, not steak and scotch."

"I'm not eating this."

"Eat it now or when you knock on my door tonight, I'll ignore it."

Fitz unfolded his arms and grabbed the forked and jammed it into a bunch of spinach and then jammed it into his mouth. He eyed her angrily the entire time.

"Mmmmm yummy," she teased.

She made him eat the entire thing.

"Wow you are alive after eating a salad, who would've thought…" she sarcastically.

"Whatever."

She laughed, she was having a little too much fun watching him behave like a brat over eating vegetables.

"All the steak and scotch would've done was make you lethargic. Is that all you eat?"

Fitz smiled.

"Yep steak, bacon, ribs, chicken, I'm not really a rice person, I'll eat baked potatoes though,"

"That's not very diverse."

"But it is absolutely delicious."

"I bet."

"Since I ate all my vegetables, I get to come over tonight right?"

"Yes, I always keep my word but if you want to keep coming over, you'll have to keep eating vegetables."

"Seriously?"

"Yep but we can talk about this later, I have a conference call at 5, I have to join in an hour so I want to get back to my apartment."

Fitz pouted.

"Okay I'll see you later then."

She got up and walked over to him. She pulled the sleeve down his wrist and placed two fingers on his radial artery.

As she stood in front of him Fitz held his breath, he was afraid that if he took one whiff of her, he was going to devour here right there in the oval.

"Fitz are you breathing?"

He pulling in a breath.

"Yes."

And then her scent hit him.

She was standing over him. He tried not to be that guy and looked everywhere except at her but her couldn't help himself, he had to take another peek.

'One quick peek,' he thought to himself.

He looked up and there her breast were, huge, supple and perky and even though he tried to look away, he couldn't.

"What bra size are you?" he thought it and then said it, almost as I there was no filter.

"I'm so sorry, I don't know why I said that."

She smiled.

"Because you thought it, that's the impulse control I told you about. Be careful, you have to try and work on that, if you said that to an intern or someone else, that could have been a big story."

"I don't think these things about the interns, so it would never happen," he flirted.

She let go of his hand.

"You're heartbeat is a little fast, I want you to start walking in the mornings, for about a half hour, a nice normal paced walk and please no more steak, for the next couple of weeks, you need salads, you can have steak maybe once a week, you can have chicken everyday but it has to be grilled okay."

He could hear her concern.

"Okay, I promise."

He had planned on calling Gustav and telling him to bring back the steak the minute she walked out but no there was no way he could do that, not after she asked him not to.

She smiled at him.

"Perfect."

She walked over to the couch and grabbed her Saint Laurent bag and headed to the door.

"I'm a 32DD," she said and then made her exit.

Fitz turned over on the couch as she walked out.

Olivia got to her apartment with 30 minutes to spare before her conference calls thanks to Fitz instructing his guard to drop her home. She used the time to quickly shower and change into something more comfortable.

She sat on the couch and counted down the minutes till her phone rang. Exactly on the minute the call was to begin, her phone rang.

"Olivia Pope."

"What's up Liv, hold on let me connect the other doctor," Harrison said through the phone.

She heard a beep and then Dr. Manu greeted her.

"Hello Dr. Pope, thank you for agreeing to speak with me."

"Hello Dr. Manu, thank you for reaching out to me."

"The case I'm dealing with is a special one, the patient it 9 years old and a female. She has been battling schizophrenia and had a chip implanted into her brain in an experimental trial to gauge how well the chip could control the neurotransmitters in her brain and even out her brain chemistry."

"I can't imagine this being done in the U.S.?"

"It was done in China, her case was exceptionally rare, her form of schizophrenia caused her to be in a constant state of paranoia and self harm, her parents got desperate."

"I'm not judging Dr. Manu."

"The chip ruptured, causing a severe imbalance in the neurotransmitters in the brain, I can send her CT scans and MRI images over if you'd like. "

"Please do."

"Okay, I'll have my assistant send them momentarily.

"The chip broke apart in many sharp pieces that lodge into brain tissue and I'm afraid one wrong move and I'd give this kid permanent brain damage, I had hoped you'd be willing to operate on her. The lodge pieces are causing her severe pain and we've been able to control it this far by keeping her sedated and on pain killers but we won't be able to for very long."

There was no way anyone could pull out that many pieces of sharp objects from a brain and leave it intact, she knew he wanted her to do the pope procedure.

"Where is she?"

"She's at the UCSF hospital in California."

"I'll look over her scans and let you know by tomorrow."

"Thank you Dr. Pope, I look forward to hearing from you."

"I'll be in touch Dr. Manu."

Dr. Manu hung up but Harrison was still on the line, quietly listening.

"What do you think Harry?"

"I think we should take it, you haven't done the procedure in a long time."

"Yea, I'm leaning that way but let me examine her scans and her medical information, I'll call you when I've made my decision."

"Alright Liv, I have a couple more cases for you but one involves traveling to Japan, I'm still talking with the doctor."

"I've always loved Japan, keep in touch Harrypoo."

"Hey, I hate that name."

She hung up.

An hour later Dr. Manu sent her the images of the patients CT and MRI scans. He also sent her medical history so Olivia could see all the types of surgeries and medications she'd been on before. She decided to wait a little while to review the images.

She had read about a new Thai place that wasn't very far from her apartment. She mapped out the directions and threw on some shorts and a t shirt and head out to brace the August evening heat.

She followed the directions and arrived a little earlier than she thought she would. It took them a little while to prepare her food so she walked over to the park opposite the restaurant and waited for them to call her when her food was ready. Once she picked up her food and headed back to her apartment it was just after 8. She ate her crunchy seafood salad and chicken wings in its entirety and then showered again. While her apartment was cool, her trip outside left her feeling sticky. It was her third shower of the day, as a doctor she knew it wasn't good to take that many showers because of how it could dry out the skin but she couldn't help it, she hated feeling hot and sticky. Her upcoming trip to Africa would be unforgiving in its hot and humid temperatures but she was willing to put up with it for a good cause.

She began reviewing the images and videos, she must've lost track of time because when she look up it was almost 10 when Fitz knocked.

She smiled and got up to open the door. She still couldn't figure out why he excited her so much, just the thought of him sent shivers down her spine.

She opened the door and was a little surprised by his very casual appearance. He was wearing navy t shirt and grey sweatpants.

He looked down at her, she was wearing shorts and a tank top. He had perfect view of her breast, she had no bra on and he briefly wondered if she did it on purpose.

She stepped aside so he could come in. He was about to walk over to the couch but she stopped him.

"Shoes-" she reminded.

He sighed and took them off.

He walked behind her as she headed to the couch, he watched her ass as she walked in front of him. Her shirt rode up and revealed the small of her back. He could see the two dimples in her lower back.

She sat on the couch and folded her legs, he sat at the far end of the couch. He didn't trust himself around her. He tucked one of his legs up just in case he had an accidental erection, he didn't want to freak her out.

"Why are you all the way over there?" she asked.

"No reason," he said a little too quickly.

She grabbed her laptop and went back to reviews the images.

"What are you doing?"

"I have a new case, I'm just going over her brain scans, wanna see?"

He was a hesitant to be so close to her.

She realized.

"Are you okay?"

"Yea I'm fine."

She scooted over closer to him so he could see he laptop. Fitz could smell her scent, she smelled like vanilla.

He stiffened.

"What is your problem?"

"Nothing, I'm fine."

She looked at him skeptically.

"Okay, so this is a picture of a normal brain, the red and yellow color that you is the activity in the brain. Electric impulses, signals, etcetera."

He nodded.

"Okay now this is what I'm working with."

She switched the image of the normal brain to the image of her soon to be patients brain.

"Whoa."

"Yea, it's about 3 times the activity of a normal brain."

"Why is that?" he asked.

"She had a chip implanted in China into her brain to control her schizophrenia, the chip ruptured and disrupted the entire chemical structure of her brain, causing increased amounts of dopamine, oxytocin and serotonin."

"So why do they need you to operate?"

"Well, when the chip ruptured, it shattered and the pieces spread further and further apart into her brain which as you can imagine, is extremely painful. I would have to cut her open and remove the pieces with a magnet."

"Wouldn't that rip her brain apart?"

"Not if I accelerate her stem cells and inject them into her brain to heal it, that's if I can keep her alive long enough to actually get the stem cells in her. When the doctor called he didn't say it right away but after seeing how bad it was, I knew that the only reason he asked me to do this was because he wanted me to do the procedure."

"The Pope procedure?"

"I hate what they have named it but yes."

Fitz chuckled.

"You should be proud, your procedure has done impossible things."

"It did but there is a reason I haven't done it in years."

He didn't know how she was doing it but somehow she was taking his mind off of her body and back to her.

"Yeah, why haven't you done it?"

"I had a migraine in the middle of surgery, if it was a regular one I could've recovered but that was the worst one I'd ever had, I felt paralyzed, I couldn't move or think or speak, I had this little girl's brain open in front of me and I couldn't help her."

"Is that the girl would've been a vegetable? If you couldn't operate, who did?"

"My friend Harrison, I had finished the implant, all that I had left to do what sew her back up, Harrison did that for me."

"The nurse?"

"Don't say it like that, he's a nurse but he's also very smart, he pays attention and after watching me perform 10 previous stem cell procedures, he was able to finish."

"Wow."

"Yeah, Harry's great."

"So when would this procedure happen?"

"A couple days, I told them I'd give them an answer tomorrow. It would be an extensive procedure I'd be gone for at least a week."

"Wait no you're not - a week? I only had 7 weeks with you to begin with," Fitz was getting a little flustered.

"That was the deal, I stay here with you but I still leave for my surgeries, remember."

"Yeah but I didn't know that they'd last a week, I thought it'd be a day tops."

"It's a little more complicated than that most times. I work with a lab particle accelerator lab in France, I'd have to do a bone marrow transfer, then send it to the lab, wait for it to be finished and sent back then I'd have to operate on her brain and it's just a whole lot."

Fitz sighed.

"Are you gonna do it."

"She's in pain, I can't imagine not helping her, if I can manipulate the brain chemistry with the stem cells and stop the over activity in her amygdala, I can cure her schizophrenia."

"Damnit, thanks for making me feel like a complete asshole for wanting to keep you here."

"You're welcome," she smiled.

He finally let himself relax.

"So if I were to be around when you had a migraine, what should I do to help?"

She changed her position and sat facing him with her legs folded.

He was rigid again.

"Fitz why are you acting so unusually?"

"Nothing, tell me."

"Well, it's fairly simple, just turn off whatever light and sound is on. I usually have a little pail beside me in case I need to throw up and that's really it."

"Noted," he said with a dashing smile.

She playfully slapped his leg but inadvertently ended up too close to his groin.

Fitz looked at her carefully.

"What?" she asked innocently.

"I can't tell if you are doing this on purpose?"

"Doing what?"

Now she was confused.

"Everything, you have no bra on so I get to see those perky little breasts bounce up and down everytime you move, plus I'm guessing you're cold because your nipples are hard, which is gonna make something I have get hard..." he paused, "those tiny shorts, don't help either, I mean I'm trying to control myself here but you have to help me, maybe wear a snuggie next time," he suggested.

She smiled.

"One sec."

She got up and headed to her bathroom. She was back in couple of minutes fully dressed in a long sleeve red Christmas bodysuit pajama.

"It's not a snuggie but I think it'll do."

Fitz smiled widely, she still looked sexy as hell but he decided to let her live.

"Why do you even have that?"

"It's my favorite pajama plus sometimes the a/c is really cold at night so I brought it for that too."

She walked over and sat beside him.

"Can I ask you something wildly inappropriate?" he asked.

"You've been on a roll all week, don't stop now."

"You're boobs-"

"Here we go."

Fitz chuckled.

"How are you so small with such nice boobs and a DD cup, you look smaller than that, not that hey aren't perfectly supple and round but aren't D's huge?"

Fitz didn't know what he was talking about he just wanted to say anything to get her talk about her breasts.

"Small women can have boobs too not just tall leggy blondes and this is what real d cups look like, not what you see in porn those are h's and j's. I don't like wearing bras, especially at home and I'm not gonna start now. I love my breast, they are perfect for me-"

"That makes two of us."

She hit his arm, he didn't react, he just stared.

She had a thought, more like an urge, a crazy one and she knew she was horrible for even wanting to do it but she decided to go for it.

"Do you want to see them?"

Fitz head snapped back to her eyes.

"Huh?" he wasn't sure he heard her correctly.

"Do you want to see them?"

He stood up and began pacing.

"I wasn't prepared for this, I feel like it's my first time."

He walked over to her and stopped in front of her, he held her hand in his.

"Be gentle with me okay."

She erupted into a fit of laughter, he was being so dramatic, she loved it.

"Are you ready?" she asked still laughing.

He took a deep breath and rubbed his palms together.

"I'm ready."

She slowly unbuttoned the first few buttons down the middle of her onesie and pull it down her arms. She still had the tank top on from earlier, she slowly pulled the delicate straps over her shoulder and pull it down to her waist. She saw Fitz's eyes, they were low and hungry.

Her nipples hardened. They way that he looked at her, aroused her in ways she never thought possible.

Fitz sat in front of her, minutes had passed, his cock was as hard as a rock.

His face was so close to her breast that she could feel his breath on her nipples.

He licked his lips, the urge to taste her skin was overwhelming.

Olivia practically sat in a puddle of her own fluid. She could feel it slowly seeping out of her and unto her tiny thongs and escaping down her thighs.

Fitz inched closer and closer to her breast, she watched him, her breath became short and choppy. He placed his hands around her waist and pulled her up so she was leaning over him.

His hands were huge around her waist, she bit her lip at the tingle she felt when his skin touched hers. He kissed the spot just under her breast and he heard a breathy moan escape her lips.

That was when they knew that if the continued in that moment, there was no turning back, at least not tonight.

They were both still for a moment until she took a deep breath and pulled her tank slowly up her body.

All her life she'd never understood how people could make reckless decisions when it came to sex, until now. She didn't care about the consequences, how unethical it was to sleep with a patient, let alone a married one who happens to be the president all she knew was that she really wanted to do it. She wanted him to suck her nipples until she came. She wanted his fingers inside her and his tongue in between her slit. She wanted to taste his cock and suck him off until he came, but most of all, she wanted him inside her. She never told him how she heard the nurses discussing his size. At the time, she tried to be professional and not listen in but she couldn't help but notice that they were all too excited about what he under his pants.

He could still see her erect nipples under tank and this time, it wasn't because she was cold, it was because she wanted him as much as he wanted her. He leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes, all he could see were her breasts which wasn't exactly helping his cock get soft.

She pulled her sleeve back and then snuggled under his arm.

She leaned her head gently against his chest.

"I think that might have been a bad idea," she said softly against his chest.

He chuckled.

"You think?"

She sighed.

"Everything is going to change now, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is."


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning Olivia woke up, she wanted to punch herself in the face for what happened last night. Not that it wasn't absolutely the most sexually aroused she'd ever been. It was highly exhilarating, the adrenaline she felt pulsing throughout her body at the feeling of his lips on her skin was indescribable. She couldn't believe she was that whipped over someone she hadn't even kissed as yet. Last night was the most daring she'd ever been in a long time. It felt good to slowly climb out of the shell her father had built around her, she loved who she was becoming, save the falling for a married man part. Fitz was amazing, that's what made it such a struggle for her. This amazing man, who she was completely and utterly infatuated with, after having only known him week was married. She didn't know what to feel about that. Should she talk to him about it? Should she just ignore it? What if people found out? Then she scolded herself for jumping the gun, they hadn't even had sex yet, they were just 'friends'.

"What was there to find out?" she thought to herself.

She tried to clear her thoughts, as much as was possible for her ever active imagination and got out of bed.

She headed the bathroom and brushed her teeth and washed her face. She didn't know what time Fitz left last night, she only knew that she fell asleep on the couch and woke up on her bed. He must've carried her, if she had woken up and walked to her bed herself she would've remembered. She put it on her mental to do list to scolded him for carrying her after he'd been out the hospital for only 5 days. Then she thought back to last night and scolded herself for almost having sex with him in his condition. He absolutely shouldn't be exerting himself so soon after leaving the hospital. She knew what she had to do, she wasn't sure how he would react but she would have to do it nonetheless. As his doctor, last night she went to far and she couldn't let it happen again. She drank some tea and spent a few minutes preparing herself mentally for her day. At around 11 am, she called Dr. Manu to confirm that she could perform the necessary surgery. Dr. Manu implored her to make the trip out to California as soon as possible. She promised to fly out the next morning to begin examining her patient.

She spent most of the day prepping for the surgeries. She called her good friend Baron Daniel Benancourt, who ran the particle accelerator lab in France and told him to begin prepping for the sample she would send in a few days. She worked extensively with Daniel while developing her stem cell theory. They had a brief romance of mutual benefit for a short time until she returned back the U.S to finish her research. They kept in touch as friends and nothing else even though Daniel had wanted more than friendship. He was a Baron, a very rich one but she wasn't interested in him beyond working together on the particle accelerator.

She spent most of her day on the phone with either her office, Harrison or the UCSF hospital working out the details of the procedure.

* * *

The minute Fitz reached the Oval Office in the morning, he called his lawyer. After Olivia had given him a proper run down of Cyrus, Mellie and Gerry last week, the day he came from the hospital he reach out and explained to him how imperative it was that they work out the minutiae of his divorce proposal for Mellie. He'd been talking to his lawyer for months before the shooting hypothetically going over a divorce agreement but this time he was serious. He'd always wanted a divorce but after he brought it up a couple times and was completely shut down, he gave up at least that's what he had Mellie, Cyrus and Gerry thinking. It wasn't until he laid eyes on Olivia that he had made up his mind that come hell or high water, he was getting his divorce. He didn't know if it was superficial for him to completely fall for Olivia the moment he laid eyes on her. It wasn't because of her looks, she had an aura about her that attracted him like his own strand of crack. Everything about her was perfect, her curve of her lip when she smiled, the way she tilted her head to the side when she was confused. He couldn't find a single flaw. He'd never been in love before, he didn't know if that's what was happening. Had he fallen in love with her after being with her for just a week? Maybe that was why he couldn't stop thinking about her, what she was doing, was she happy and smiling or was she in pain, crying on the floor from a migraine and he was nowhere close to help her. It took an obscene amount of restraint in order for him to not call her every other minute just to hear her voice over the phone.

He was so lost in thought that he didn't hear his lawyer answer the phone.

"Hello?"

Fit snapped back to reality.

"Hey Tim, I was just calling to find out if the papers were ready?"

"Actually, I was just gonna have Sarah fax them over to you. Give me a moment, I'll call you once we send them."

"Sure, take your time."

That really meant 'hurry up'.

Within a couple minutes Lauren brought him the papers and Tim called back like he said he would. Fitz went over the paperwork again, just to make sure all the propositions were exactly as he wanted them, then he went about his day as planned, trying to get as much work done because after all, he'd just been on a three week vacation. He was going to have a talk with her a little later in the afternoon. He knew as soon as he told Mellie, she was going to run to Cyrus and Cyrus was going to run the big Gerry and then all three of them would gang up on him but he was prepared for that. At around 2, he went up to the residence to speak with Mellie. She wasn't in the master bedroom, he had one of the aides search for her and bring her back to the master. It took about 10 minutes of waiting in the bedroom before she appeared.

"You summoned me?" she said as she walked in.

Whatever sympathy she had for him over the shooting had disappeared when he came home from the hospital.

"I didn't summon you Mel, I just asked you to talk."

"What's up Hun?"

Fitz handed her the paperwork.

"You can't talk me out of it this time Mellie, I'd like this to be as amiable as possible."

Mellie flipped through a few pages, not completely reading through but skimming.

"Not this again," she said apathetically.

"The thing about almost dying is that you realize that certain things just aren't worth it, this marriage is one of those things, I'm not gonna do it anymore."

"Fitz, I'm not signing this."

"Why not, I think I've been more than fair, 50% of my personal wealth, which is very generous because that was not in the prenup. According to the prenup you should get 10% but I want this over so I'll give you 50% and you get visitation of Gerry."

"Please Big Gerry doesn't have that much time left, if I divorce you now what about all the family money, I wouldn't get any of that."

"You wouldn't get any if Gerry died in 10 minutes whether we are married or not."

"This is crazy, you are still dealing with ptsd from being shot and you are not thinking rationally. I'll talk to Gerry about this, he can talk some sense into you."

"Do not involve my father in this, you are married to me not him. You will sign those papers Mellie because I'm serious when I say I'm done with this marriage!"

Fitz tried not to raise his voice but it happened anyway.

Mellie stormed off.

"I'm telling Gerry!"

"Yeah, you do that."

Mellie found an empty bedroom down the hall and pulled out her cell and dialed Gerry. It almost went to voicemail before Gerry picked up.

"Millicent, what do you want?"

"I need you to talk to your son, he's talking about this divorce again."

Gerry sighed.

"What do you want me to do Mellie? Ignore him, he'll stop."

"He had divorce papers drafted and everything, he's serious."

"Maybe if you'd blow him every once in a blue moon, he wouldn't be so hung up on getting a divorce."

"He made it clear years ago that he didn't want me and you know what I don't want him but I'm not getting a divorce."

"Fine, I'll take care of him just ugh - just don't call me again."

Mellie hung up on him, she couldn't stand Gerry but he was the only one who could get through to Fitz sometimes.

Fitz stood outside the door and listened to Mellie rant on the phone with Gerry about the divorce, when she hung up, he walked swiftly to the kitchen to pick up his food and headed back to the oval.

He dialed Olivia as soon as he sat in his chair. She picked up in the second ring.

"I thought I scared you off?" she said with a chuckle.

"I don't scare easily, Dr. Pope."

"Your total is $1897.26, will you be paying cash or credit?"

"Credit," Olivia answered.

"Who is that? What are you doing?"

"Well after being on a conference call for about 4 hours, I decided to go do a little shopping, to clear my head but also I went to buy lunch."

"That's very normal of you," he teased.

"By the way, I know you carried me to my bed last night, I'm not happy you did that. In your condition, you could have pulled a muscle or worse."

"My condition? You are the one who said I'm healing nicely."

"Yes, if you take it easy and not strain yourself?"

"Please, what do you think would've happened last night if we didn't stop. I think that would've called for a little exertion on my part?"

"I was waiting for you to bring that up... last night I was extremely careless and showed poor judgement, I don't think I can continue to be your doctor."

She waited on his reaction.

He didn't speak for a while, but she knew he was on the line because she could hear the slow deep breaths he was taking.

"I'll talk to you later."

He hung up immediately.

Later than night, he came earlier than usual at 8:30. She wondered if he was being careful about coming and going because the last thing they needed was to get caught even though they would probably just lie and say he was coming for a check up.

He had the most irate look on his face.

"What do you mean you can't be my doctor anymore?"

He didn't wait until he was in the apartment to begin. She opened the door wider so he could come in.

He was about to step on her carpet with his shoes on.

"Shoes-"

Fitz looked her straight in the eye and stepped on her carpet with his shoes on.

Olivia gasped.

"You didn't?"

"I did."

He paused.

"Why are you leaving me?"

"You didn't let me finish earlier, you wanted to be dramatic and hang up on me."

"So what did you mean?"

"I was going to say, I am going to quit being your doctor but that doesn't mean I don't want to see you anymore."

"It doesn't?"

She could see the smile slowly tug on his lips, he looked relieved.

"Of course not."

He quickly slipped off his shoes and put them by the door.

"Sorry about that, I'll buy you a new rug," he said with a mischievous smile.

"You can be so immature sometimes, it's unbelievable. Why did you think I was leaving?"

"You said, 'I showed poor judgment and I can't be your doctor anymore.' I thought that meant you were leaving me because of what happened last night."

"I did show poor judgement, you were shot multiple times less than a month ago and if I hadn't caught myself, we would have had sex and there would have been so many things wrong with that."

"Like what?"

"Well, I'm your doctor, It's a little unethical to sleep with your patient, let alone one who hasn't even completely healed as yet, also, aren't you married? Not that I care about your marriage but I think the ring on your finger calls for a little pause."

"You were the one who flashed me."

She laughed and covered her face shyly.

"Look I'm gonna be honest with you, this is all new for me. I've never been this infatuated with someone. If you had met me a couple years ago, I was the most stiff neck, boring, apathetic, inexpressive know it all, you could have ever met. I did everything my father told me without question, not because I wanted to but because life was just easier when I did. I was an experiment my entire childhood so I never did the things normal kids did, I never had friends or partied or did anything remotely social or fun. I didn't even lose my virginity until I was 23. Can you imagine?"

"Actually, I can't," he teased just to lighten the mood.

She slapped his arm.

"Shut up."

He chuckled.

"I'm telling you this because, well, I like you. You're funny and fun and smart even though you act like a real idiot sometimes, and let's keep in mind that I known you for a week so imagine all the stupid shit you're gonna do in the future."

"You know me so well."

"You're also married. Last night felt good, it felt more than good, it was amazing but we can't let it get that far again, not while you're married."

"About my marriage…" he began.

"What? Let me guess, you two rekindled your romance novel like love?" she teased.

"Funny but no, I actually gave her the divorce papers today."

Olivia took a few moments to think then asked him the first thought that would pop into any woman's head had they been in her situation.

"Did you do it because of me?"

"I don't wanna tell you anything that will scare you off ."

"I don't scare easily?"

He chuckled and sat on the couch and motioned for her to join him.

She followed over and sat facing him with her legs folded.

"You're amazing, the second I saw you everything changed for me. I want to be with you but I don't want to be married when I do it, I think you're too amazing for that."

Olivia blushed.

"So you did do it for me?"

"I plead the fifth."

"Do you think we're moving too fast?" she asked.

"Does it feel like we are?"

"No, I feel like we've known each other for years. Everything about you feels right."

"There you go again, the sexual innuendos, you say I need to work in my impulse control but really, I think you probably should too," he teased

"I don't, I think everything through whether it's good or bad."

"Really and last night when you flashed me your perfect tits did you think that through?"

"I didn't think you'd make me that horny. I thought I'd show you and you'd say great tits and we'd move on."

Fitz smirked.

"How horny did I make you?"

"Let's just say that a certain fluid was dripping down my thigh and it wasn't urine."

Fitz fell back on the couch from laughing so hard.

"Livie we have to work on your sexy talk okay."

"Shut up I did that on purpose, bet you aren't thinking about sex now are you?"

Fitz wiped his eye.

"Would it be gross if I still was?" he said with a chuckle.

She playfully shoved him.

"If we are going to stay out of each other's privates we need to have a strict no sex talk rule, at least until you are divorced."

"Let me warn you, Mellie's gonna drag her feet, can you keep your hands off this hot stuff for that long."

"Can you keep your hands off of me, After last night, I don't know if you can." She teased.

He stretched his hand out for a handshake.

"Strictly friends until my divorce is final, once I'm divorced then.."

Her insides trembled at the thought.

"Deal," she agreed.

They sealed it with a handshake.

"So what do we do now, just sit here and try not to have sex?" he asked.

"I suppose."

They were silent for a while.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked.

"I have you up against the wall, over there. You're scratching up my back and screaming my name," he pointed.

"What are you thinking about?"

"I'm blowing you over there " she pointed.

"Like seriously deepthroating you and I'm not gagging either. I maintaining eye contact the entire time because I am that good and you're begging me to take it easy on you because you don't wanna come too quickly."

She shuddered as she tried to shake the images out of her head.

Fitz reached over and covered her mouth with his hand before she could say anything else.

"Seriously Olivia? You're killing me."

He looked down at his growing erection.

He could tell that she was laughing, he let her go.

"I'm sorry, you started it."

Then she got an idea.

"Let's play a game."

"Oh no you don't."

"Calm down, it's a karaoke game, I bought the app earlier."

"Okay that sounds tame."

She grabbed her phone and small wireless speaker she bought earlier. She connected it and then turned around to face Fitz.

"Would you like to go first?"

"No mic?"

"This is makeshift okay."

She looked around and found the remote.

"Pretend this is your mic."

He smiled and got up.

"Let me warn you, I'm no lightweight."

"Shut up, instead of the entire song, let's do it verse by verse, makes it more fun."

"Okay, what's my song?"

Olivia checked her phone.

"Hips don't lie by shakira."

"Of course."

"Shush, I'm gonna start it."

Olivia pressed play and waited for the song to start.

Once the intro played Fitz started swaying his hips like a belly dancer.

" _ **never really knew that she could dance like this  
She makes a man want to speak Spanish  
Como se llama  
Bonita  
Mi casa (Shakira Shakira)**_"

Olivia was on the floor laughing.

"You win, you win," she said in between laughs.

"Nope, your turn."

He handed her the impromptu mic.

"Play that funky music white boy," Olivia said as she walked to the middle of the carpet.

Fitz rolled his eyes and pressed play.

"Your song is 'fuck the police' by N.W.A. - whoa what kind of karaoke game is this?"

"A funny one," Olivia chuckled.

"Can I skip this one?"

Olivia rolled her eyes.

"Don't be a pussy. Play my record."

"Okay but if Tom and Hal come in here and beat our asses, mostly yours, then don't say anything."

She laughed.

"Fine change it."

He skip the song.

"Hit them up by tupac, well that's not better."

"It's hit 'em' up Fitz."

He smiled and pressed play.

" _ **First off, fuck your bitch and the clique you claim  
Westside when we ride, come equipped with game  
You claim to be a player, but I fucked your wife  
We bust on Bad Boys, fucked for life  
Plus Puffy tryin to see me, weak hearts I rip  
Biggie Smalls and Junior M.A.F.I.A. some mark-ass bitches"**_

"Potty potty mouth Livie. I love the hand movements, very rapper like." he teased.

"I'm from the streets."

"You're from the upper west side, calm down."

She laughed and walked over and sat in his lap.

"We are a mess, you know that right?"

"That's what makes it fun," he said as she kissed her bare shoulder.

"I don't know if I've ever told you how breathtakingly beautiful you are."

She blushed.

"You could stand to mention it more," she teased.

She leaned back and he wrapped his arms around her.

"How does your chest feel?"

"Baby I'm fine, don't worry, I feel great."

"You called me baby," she said sheepishly.

"You are my baby," he chuckled.

"Well, your baby is leaving tomorrow morning, bright and early for California."

"Don't remind me, I'm gonna miss you too much," he whined.

"Call me everyday and every night."

He kissed her bare shoulder again. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

He kissed up the ledge of her shoulder until he reached her crook of her neck. He peppered kisses up her neck, each time letting his lips linger and tasting her skin with his tongue.

"Fitz-"

He reached under her shirt and cupped her breasts. He tenderly rubbed his thumbs over her erect nipples.

"You're breaking the rules baby," she whispered softly against his skin. She was ravenous for him and couldn't quell the aching for him that dwelled between her thighs

"Not yet."

He continued caressing her nipple tenderly. He listened to her pant softly as he kissed and licked her neck.

She could feel his erection, she grind softly on him and gasped when he pinched her nipples in response.

"Kiss me."

He pulled his arms from under her shirt and turned her around so she was straddling him. She cupped his cheeks with her hands, she could feels Fitz's hands planted firmly on her ass.

She was about to lean in and kiss him when her phone rang breaking her from the trance she was put in. It wasn't her work cell or else she would have ignored it, it was her personal cell. He could see her still debating whether or not to answer.

"Answer it."

She looked at him and smiled then leaned over and grabbed it from the coffee table and answered. She didn't recognize the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Liv, it's Abby."

"Hey Abby, why aren't you calling me from your phone?"

"I'm at the hospital, Paul attacked me."

"He did what?"

She got up from on top of Fitz.

"What happened? Tell me everything."

"No, It's embarrassing."

"Abigail Lucretia Whelan! Start talking."

"Don't let anyone hear you, you know how much I hate my middle name."

"Then start talking Lucretia."

She could hear Abby sigh.

"He came over and I wasn't in the mood tonight, he'd been getting a little aggressive and I couldn't be bothered. I told him no but he didn't care, I tried to fight him off, I hit him with your vase on the coffee table in the living room, I thought it would knocked him out but it didn't, he punched me and knocked me out, I woke up on the floor uhm don't get mad but he stole your diamond necklace and he took the keys to your car and apartment."

"He took the keys to my apartment and car?"

"He did but I don't think he knows where I parked it."

"Did you call the cops?"

"I did but I only told them about the car and apartment, the other stuff is too embarrassing. I'm really sorry Liv, I know how expensive that necklace was and your car, I'm so sorry."

"Abby, it's not your fault. That's stuff is all material things they're replaceable but you aren't, how do you feel?"

"They said as long as I ice my jaw, I'll be fine."

"Okay, It's 10:30, I'm gonna see if I can get on a plane within the next couple of hours. I can't stay long, I have to get to California in the morning."

"Thank you Liv, I'm really sorry about this."

"Abby stop apologizing, it's not your fault. I'll be there soon, don't go back to the apartment, use my emergency credit card and check into a hotel or something."

"Okay."

Olivia hung up.

"What happened?"

"You remember the guy my best friend was having sex with when we were on the phone?"

"Yeah."

"He attacked her, stole the keys to my apartment and car and took my diamond necklace."

"Why did he attack her?"

"She didn't want to have sex and he attacked her."

"That's awful."

"Yep, I'm sorry I'm gonna have to leave sooner than I planned."

"No, it's okay, actually I couldn't help but overhear that you needed a ride to New York."

"Yea?"

"Take the family jet, it's here in DC. It'll get you there quicker."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, I'll drop you to the air strip."

"Thank you. Let me grab a few things."

"Okay sure, I'll get jet ready, let me call the pilot."

Olivia didn't pack clothes since she would have to stop by her apartment, she just grabbed all the documents necessary for the California trip.

She was ready in 15 minutes, after throwing on some jeans and a t shirt.

"You ready?" he asked.

"Yeah."

They headed down to Fitz's car. Once they both got in, Tom took off.

Olivia snuggled up into Fitz's side.

"I'm really sorry about what happened to your friend."

"I think she'll be alright, I think she's more worried about my necklace and car than she actually is worried about her injuries."

"Well what kind of car was it?"

"A Mercedes sls amg convertible."

Fitz leaned up.

"That's a $250,000 car Olivia."

"I know, you should hear how the engine roars," she said with a wicked smile.

"Why would you buy a car that expensive?"

"I didn't buy it, it was a gift."

"From who, Jesus?"

She laughed.

"No, from a patient."

"Which patient?" Fitz asked skeptically.

"A Russian billionaire, I performed stem cell procedure and made him walk again so he gave me 20 million dollars and a car."

"WHAT?"

"Yeah."

"That's crazy, you charged him 20 mill?"

"I didn't charge him 20 mill, he gifted me 20 mill. It turns out that when people think they'll be paralyzed forever but you make them walk again, they're very grateful."

"What about the necklace? How much is that worth? Was it a gift as well."

"The necklace is worth millions, it was a gift from a guy I used to date."

"What guy?"

"Daniel Benancourt."

"I've heard that name before."

"Yea, he runs a French accelerator lab."

Then Fitz realized.

"Baron Daniel Benancourt? That scientist from France, isn't he related to royalty or something?"

"Yeah."

"And you used to date him?"

"I did, why are you making such a big deal about this?"

"Have you seen that guy, I'd date him," Fitz laughed.

"Well, he's got nothing on you."

She looked down to his crotch and then back up.

"Absolutely nothing."

She paused, eager to finish what she had started earlier.

"Now if I remember correctly (and I think I do) we were in the middle of something earlier."

"Are you sure, I remember your sucky karaoke game, I don't remember much else, now if you could remind me, that would be-"

Olivia didn't wait for him to finish. She bit his bottom lip. Fitz pulled her on top of him so she was straddling him and fastened his hands tightly around her waist.

He kissed him again, softly, barely letting their lips touch, teasing him with her aura.

Fitz reached up a held her face and tenderly kissed her. He started off soft and slow and then worked his way in. His tongue danced with hers as they tasted each other's essence. Olivia closed her eyes and savored the feeling of his tongue in her mouth. He kissed her in a way that made her forget about everything and anything that wasn't there with them in that moment. He was the only person that existed right there and then. She had never felt anything like it, a connection to person so strong that whenever he touched her, it felt like the world stopped spinning. She salivated in between her slit as he drove his tongue in and out of her mouth.

Before she knew it the car came to a stop. They had arrived at the airstrip. Olivia still clinged on to Fitz, their lips still touched as they both tried to catch their breath. She didn't want to let go of him, what felt like only a few minutes had really been almost an hour.

"Be safe," she could hear him whisper.

She kissed him.

"Think positive. Tomorrow's important."

Fitz had to give a joint session speech.

Fitz kissed her.

"Good luck on your surgery, you'll do great."

She blushed.

"Thanks."

She finally broke away.

Fitz opened the door and she climb off of him and hopped out. He got out behind her.

"Let me walk you to the plane."


	6. Chapter 6

Fitz walked into his room, still on a crazy high from his kiss with Olivia.

"Where have you been?"

He turned to see Mellie in the corner.

"Minding my business."

"Don't be smart Fitz. Where have you been?"

He didn't answer, he just threw his jacket off and walked to the bathroom. She followed him.

"Fitz I'm speaking to you."

"Mellie, I'm not gonna argue with you."

He turned on the faucet and gauged the water.

"Fitz," she said a little softer.

She walked over and kissed his bare back. He was thrown off by her sudden display of affection but he didn't say anything, he was interested to see what her motive was so he ignored her and walked over to the sink and began brushing his teeth. Mellie just stood and watched him. When he was done, he completely undressed and stepped into the shower.

He was under the faucet for some time until he heard she screen door open and Mellie was naked beside him.

"Woah."

She smiled and ran her hand up and down his torso.

"When was the last time we had sex."

"Mellie, get out," he spoke in a normal tone.

"Come on Fitz, you were always so great in bed, I've missed you and I'm horny."

She dropped to her knees, she was about to take him into her mouth but Fitz stepped back.

"Mellie I asked you to get out, don't make me ask you again because I will get really disrespectful."

She stood up.

"What's your problem Fitz, you are the one that's always complaining about us not having sex, now I'm willing to do and what? You don't want to? Since when have you ever not wanted to have sex."

"Since a couple years ago and you think you can blow me just so I'll call of the divorce. I won't so come up with another plan this won't work and honestly it's a little embarrassing on your part."

"You're a real dick, you know that Fitz."

She stormed out of the bathroom and slammed the door behind her. He shook his head and chuckled, he was just glad he could go back to thinking about his kiss with Olivia in peace. It was amazing. I made him feel things inside that he'd never felt before. He didn't know what was so different about her. Whenever she was near him the hairs on his skin stood up, his heart sped up and he second guessed everything he did. He didn't know how he was going to manage an entire week without her. He thought it was hilarious that a month ago he'd didn't even know she existed and now he couldn't imagine life without her. He showered quickly and waited for her to call. He made her promise that she would call once she landed. The flight to New York from D.C. was just over an hour so he knew she would be landing any minute. He got dressed in his pajamas and laid in bed waiting for her call. After 20 minutes, his phone rang. He answered in the first ring.

"Took you long enough," he said as he answered with a smile.

She laughed.

"Wow, I knew you'd say that."

"You think you know me so well, do you?"

She laughed.

"Yes, I have peered into your very soul and I know all your heart's desires," she said seductively.

"Are you sure because if you knew all my heart's desires, you'd run."

"Why do you always think I'm going to run."

"Sometimes you seem a little too good to be true, I think one day, I'll tell you something or you'll find out something and you'll run for the hills."

"Don't worry chicken nugget, I'm not going anywhere."

He laughed.

"Are you hungry? Because the only time you give me food nicknames is if your hungry."

"You're right, I am hungry. I'm passing a McDonald's right now but I'd rather get shot in the face than eat McDonald's."

"I know a little something about getting shot in the face and let me tell you, it's not fun."

"Oh my god, I'm sorry, that was so insensitive."

"Liv, it's okay, I don't have a stick I'm my ass, I'm fine."

"I know but… this is really your fault."

Fitz raised his eyebrow.

"My fault?"

"Yes, I get so nervous with you, I do things that are not normal for me, like putting my foot in my mouth."

"Don't let me think about things going in your mouth, I'll lose it."

"You are very naughty aren't you Mr. President?" she teased.

"Say Mr. president again."

"Mr. president," she said in a perfect breathy Marilyn Monroe singing to JFK voice.

Fitz chuckled.

"I'm seriously obsessed with you, you know that."

"You better be."

"So where are you?"

"I am waiting for Abby and Harrison to come and pick me up. They're a few minutes away. Once I get done with this whole robbery ordeal I have to get to California as quick as possible."

"You poor thing, you're gonna be so tired tomorrow."

"Tell me about it, I'll try to get some sleep on the plane, that should suffice. What are you doing?"

"I'm laying in bed. I needed to know you landed safely before I went to bed."

"I'm sure if I didn't call you, your pilot would have."

"Yea but I wanted to hear it from you."

She smiled, she could see Abby walking towards her and she knew she needed to end the call soon.

"Well you know I'm okay now so I trust you'll sleep like a baby tonight."

"I'll be haunted with dreams of you the entire night."

"That's good right?"

"It would be, if you weren't gonna be on the other half of the country for a week."

Abby was seconds away.

"Abby's here, I'm gonna have to run but I'll call you when I can."

"Okay. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Keith."

"What?"

She hung up.

Abby was directly in front of her, along with Harrison who drove to the airport.

"Hey Liv, thanks for coming…"

Olivia gave her a tight hug and patted her back gently before letting go.

"No prob Abby, how are you doing? Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes. They are reporting his picture on the news so I think they'll find him pretty soon. Since it is your necklace and it's really expensive, the cops wanna talk to you."

"Okay, so let's head to the precinct first then."

They stopped to buy food and ate it on their way to the precinct. Once they got to the precinct, a short, chubby man walked over to them.

"I'm detective Cattnott," he stretched his hand out for a shake.

"I remember you from earlier."

"Yes, of course Ms. Whelan. Is this the owner of the necklace?"

"Yes, this is Olivia Pope."

"Okay, can you ladies follow me."

"Sure."

They followed him to his office and took a seat at his table.

"Can I offer you ladies some coffee?"

"No thank you," Olivia responded. Abby just shook her head.

"So I just wanted to ask you some basic questions Olivia."

They both nodded.

"You are the owner of the necklace right?"

"Yes, I am."

"Did you purchase that necklace."

"I did not. It was a gift."

"When did you receive that gift."

"March 22nd, 2008."

"From whom?"

"Daniel Benancourt."

"Is that a boyfriend, husband?"

"He is a friend."

"That is a very expensive gift to get from just a friend," he said skeptically.

Olivia didn't respond, she knew exactly where the interview was headed.

"We've seen a picture of the necklace from your friend Ms. Whelan, I had our expert make an estimate of the value based on the picture and it quite expensive, according to him. Why would a friend give you such an expensive gift."

"I don't know, why don't you call him and ask him, although I must warn you that he resides in France, so you might want to factor in the time difference before you make the call."

"No need to get defensive Ms. Pope."

"Of course not, I'm just puzzled as to the direction your questions seem to be heading. I'm an intelligent woman detective Cattnott, I don't enjoy being made a fool of and time is of the essence, so why don't you ask the questions you really want to ask so we can get this over with."

The detective was surprised at her forwardness.

"We are just wondering why you have such an expensive piece of jewelry in your possession and why it was stolen? Is it insured?"

"It was in my possession because it is my possession, regardless of the price and as for why it was stolen, if you are decent at your job, you will figure it out."

He shook his head and decided to give it a rest.

"Thank you Ms. Pope,"

"Dr. Pope," she corrected.

"Dr. Pope, If I have any further questions I will reach out to you. In the meantime, I would advise you to change your locks."

"I already had the building superintendent change it," said Abby.

"Great, I guess that means we're done here," Olivia said as she stood up to make her way out of the office.

The met Harrison back in the lobby.

"How did it go?"

"He pretty much thinks I'm some sort of scammer because there is no way I could own a necklace that expensive."

"Really?"

Olivia nodded.

"Come on, I think I want to ship my car to D.C. or something until they get this guy and have to get back to the apartment and pack some things for California."

Harrison drove his car to pick Olivia up from the airport since Paul took Abby's keys and Olivia had the only other set of keys.

"You want to ship it to D.C.?" Abby asked.

"Yeah, I'll be there a lot for the next few weeks, so it'll be convenient to have it with me and until they find Paul, I don't trust that he won't try to steal it. I'll just schedule a pick up online for tomorrow and just have them park in the garage and leave the key with the doorman until I return from California."

"Okay."

The drive back to the apartment was quick, Olivia packed her Goyard duffle and suitcase with enough clothes for her one week stay in California. She scheduled pick up online from a local car shipping service and once everything else in regards to her apartment and the robbery was taken care of she took a short nap before she had to head back to the airport with Harrison.

She slept the entire flight to California and arrived just before noon because of a delay. Harrison booked their stay at the Beverly Hills hotel which was just over a mile away from the hospital.

The drive from the airport was short. Olivia had Harrison check in at the hotel and drop their bags off while she made her way to the hospital.

Doctor Manu greeted her at the entrance.

"Dr. Pope, thank you for coming on such short notice, I know you are a very busy woman."

"I'm not that busy," she joked and shook his hand.

He lead her up to doctor's lounge so she could sanitize and then led her to the patient's room.

The parents were sitting by the side of the bed and stood to greet Olivia when she walked in.

"Hello Dr. Pope, thank you so much for agreeing to see her," the mother said.

"You are very welcome."

She shook both parents hands and then walked over to the young girl who was sleeping on the bed. Olivia looked at her for a few seconds.

"What is her name?" Olivia asked.

"Sarah Connor."

She looked over to Dr. Manu.

"When was the last CT scan done?"

"The last CT scan was done two days ago and sent to you."

"Okay, I will need another one done immediately. Her brain chemistry is changing constantly and I need the most recent information in order to get a precise picture of what is going on in her body. Have you harvested the stem cells as I have asked?"

"Yes, the procedure was done yesterday."

"Perfect, I will need the sample to be sent to France immediately, same day air,"

She walked out of the room and Dr. Manu followed. She continued to belt out instructions of everything that needed to be done for the procedures that would follow in days to come.

"Dr. Pope, Dr. Pope," she heard someone calling her name as they ran down the hallway and looked to see who it was. It was Sarah's father.

"Dr. Pope do you think you can help Sarah?"

"I promise to do everything in my power to help your daughter get well again."

He hugged her, which completely surprised but she didn't respond.

"Thank you doctor."

She gave him an awkward smile and then went on her way.

After spending hours at the hospital going over test results and her strategy for the surgery, Olivia called it a night and went back to her hotel with Harrison. She showered and dressed herself then she ordered room service and sat on her bed and waited for Fitz's speech to be broadcast. She sat with her eyes glued to the tv as Fitz spoke, it was live. He seemed perfectly calm, cool and collected. He showed no evidence of someone that had been shot in the head a month ago. Once the broadcast ended, she sat on her bed, going over files for the surgery when he called. She picked up on the first ring.

"You were amazing."

"You think so?"

"Are you kidding me? You were flawless."

Fitz smiled.

"Thanks."

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm in the oval office, trying to work on this bill that I want the senate to push through. I figured I should use all the post shooting sympathy I can scrape up to get this bill passed."

She laughed.

"You are such a politician."

"Do you know how many crying, snot nosed babies I had to kiss to get into this office, I can't let it go to waste an not do what I promised to do."

"I have to admit, you've been a pretty good president… for a republican."

"You say you're a-political but you seem to really like the democrats," he teased.

"Well, they are more progressive and enlightened and liberal and eco-friendly and well, they care about the things that I care about."

"Like what?"

She placed the documents on the bed and leaned back on her pillow.

"Well for starters, it think everyone should be treated the equally regardless of race, wealth, religion, sexual orientation, gender or disability. I believe that if we don't stop global warming and pollution, cataclysm is inevitable. I believe in same sex marriage, I believe that everyone should have equal access to the same health care and education regardless of wealth. I despise war, I think it's barbaric. I think socialism is to some degree; necessary, in a capitalist society. I believe in everyone's freedom of religion or lack of religion, which is why I think that the statement 'In god we trust' should be removed from all official government documents and currency because it proves the government has in fact chosen an official state religion which is unconstitutional. I don't believe in the death penalty, life in prison is cruel a punishment enough."

"Don't stop there," he teased.

"I believe in a woman's right to choose. Your party opposes to some degree, all of the things I value."

"You are right, we are pretty ancient in our views, well they are but I'm trying to change that."

"Well, that's a start."

Fitz smiled.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Thinking about that kiss from last night."

"Shut up, you're gonna get me all twirly and it's not like we're in my apartment where we can make out so stop."

"Did you just say 'twirly'? What does that mean?"

"You know…"

"What?"

Olivia tried to give him a hint but he didn't get it.

"It means horny."

He erupted in laughter over the phone.

"Okay, I won't let you get twirly."

"What hotel are you staying at?"

"The Beverly hills hotel."

"By yourself?"

"No Harrison is with me."

"In another room right?"

"No, we rented a suite."

"Together?" his tone came off more snarky than he intended.

"By your tone, I'm guessing you don't like that."

"Why are you rooming together?"

"It's not a big deal, there are two rooms in the suite and Harry is just my friend."

"And am I just your friend too?"

Olivia didn't know where the sudden jealousy came from. She kind of liked it. She was gonna fake a fight with him at one point during the week anyways but he gave her the perfect opportunity so she had to take it.

"I'm gonna go now. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Do not hang up on me."

She hung up and chuckled. She waited to see if he would call back and of course; he did but she didn't pick up. She was gonna ice him out all week because she knew when she saw him again, he was gonna be pissed and it was always fun watching his tantrums plus she had something planned for him when she got back. It was a surprise she knew he'd love but most importantly, he deserved it. He was such a great guy and it annoyed her how the people around him didn't seem to appreciate that.

She tried to shake thoughts of Fitz out of her head went back to reviewing her work until she fell asleep.

The next morning, her day was pretty much the same. She spent the entire day at the hospital prepping for the procedure. The stem cell sample was isolated and accelerated at the lab and was on it's way back to the hospital. In the night when Fitz called her, as much as she wanted too, she didn't pick up.

Fitz sat at the resolute desk, annoyed at Olivia for not taking his calls. He learned enough about her over the past two weeks to know she was doing it just to annoy him. There was a knock on the door.

"Come in," he called out.

It was Lauren.

"Sir, your father is here to see you."

Fitz rolled his eyes, he knew exactly what it was about.

"Tell him I'm busy Lauren."

Gerry pushed past Lauren and walked into the oval office.

"Lying that you're busy Fitz, really?"

"I'm working on a bill Dad, what do you need?"

"Your wife keeps calling me and ranting on about some divorce papers you gave her. Is that true?"

"You know it is. So why ask?"

Gerry walked over to the desk.

"Come on Fitz, you know you can't get divorced so why even bother."

"Actually, I can get divorce and I want to get divorce. There is nothing you guys can do this time around that will change my mind so just save your energy Gerry."

"What's different this time huh? Why are you pushing for this so bad now? You haven't said anything about a divorce for years."

Fitz didn't answer.

"Fitz, what's changed."

Fitz sighed.

"I don't want to be married to her anymore that is all. I can't stand this farce of a marriage anymore so I'm divorcing her like 50% of married americans do at some point in time."

"You are not divorcing her."

"Oh, yes I am."

"NO, YOU ARE NOT! You think you can win a second term as a divorced president," Gerry yelled.

Tom came running into the room to see what was going on.

"Sir, is everything alright?"

Fitz stood up from his desk.

"Yes Tom everything is fine but my father was just leaving after failing to get his way, would you please escort him out, he is old and frail and I would hate for him to have an accident."

Tom walked over to escort him out. Gerry eyed Fitz dangerously.

"This conversation is not over."

"Yes it is."


	7. Chapter 7

Olivia stood in the doctor's lounge mentally preparing herself for the surgery. She had a severe headache the night leading up to the surgery so she was confident that she wouldn't have an episode during the surgery although she could never be too sure.

She sat on the sofa with her legs folded and her eyes closed. She often meditated before surgery to calm herself until Harrison came to collect her for the surgery.

Around five years ago, she took a trip to India to see if she could find a cure for her headaches. She had been researching herbs and ancient remedies that were particularly useful for dulling pain and calming the mind. When those didn't work, she visited a buddhist temple where she met a monk name Jai that suggested meditation. She was skeptical at first but after some convincing on his part, she tried it. She ended up staying at the temple for two whole days, learning the ways of meditation. It didn't help with her headaches but it helped calm her anxiety throughout the day and that went a long way for her.

She walked with Harrison down the hall into the procedure room. Once she was inside she took a deep breath and began. She worked on Sarah for 14 and a half hours uninterrupted before she was able to sew her up and leave the other doctors and nurses to clean her up.

It was success, her body immediately reacted to the transplant and when the surgery was done, they gave her another CT scan and the results were positive. All she needed now was to allow time to the transplant to work it's magic.

Dr. Manu brought her out the family that had been anxiously waiting in the hospital waiting room for word on what was going on. They all stood up as the saw her enter the waiting room. They all stood as Olivia entered the room.

"The surgery was a success,"

They all let out a breath and rejoiced by hugging and embracing each other.

"What happened?" Sarah's father asked.

"Well, it took me hours to remove all the debris from the chip in her brain but once I was able to implant the stem cells into her brain, they immediately began to amalgamate with her brain. The CT scans show significantly less brain activity. Right now, it just about time, she needs to time heal and let the transplant fully integrate into her body."

"How long do you think that will take?" her mother asked.

"My scientific guess would be in about 4-5 days before she wakes up but 2-3 weeks for full recovery. I will be here for a few more days, checking her brain wave patterns and chemical activity in the brain but once she's up, Dr. Manu will run cognitive test and evaluate her mental awareness, as well as the state of her schizophrenia, which I believe will be cured as a side effect of the transplant but only time will tell for sure."

For the second time, Sarah's mother hugged Olivia, tightly and then the father joined in on the hugged then Olivia felt Sarah's little brother join in as well.

"Thank you so much, Dr. Pope. I can't tell you how grateful we all are," Sarah's mother said with tears in her eyes.

Olivia returned the hug, it was moment like this that made her glad that she chose the profession she did. Her number one priority was to help anyone she could, in any way that she could.

"You guys are all very welcome and please, while I'm here please feel free to ask me any questions you have about the procedure and Sarah's condition."

"Thank you so much."

Olivia finished up at the hospital and then went back to her hotel. She was exhausted and hungry. She had a rule about eating late but she would have to make an exception after a surgery that lasted nearly 15 hours. She ordered room service and tried to stay up afterwards to give herself time to digest the food but she fell asleep.

Fitz paced back and forth in the oval office.

"Why does she make me so crazy," he thought to himself.

He had one of his agents parked outside of her apartment waiting on word of when she arrived from the airport. It was 3 pm and after not having heard from her in almost a week, his patience was running thin. He paced back and forth in the oval. Not in an angry way but in an anxious way, like a high schooler about to ask their crush out on a date.

Olivia landed at the washington at 5:30 pm, she jumped in a cab to her apartment as quickly as she could. Once she got to her apartment, she grabbed her car keys from the doorman and dropped off her bags and rushed out. She knew Fitz would know when she was back and she wanted to get everything done before he came to her apartment. She made a phone order at a local bakery a couple days earlier. She parked right in front of the bakery and went inside.

"Hi, I'm Olivia, I ordered a cake a few days ago, my order number is 2745" she said to the barista.

"Sure, give me one moment."

Olivia looked around at all the different snacks and treat that were beautifully displayed. When the barista came back around, she had Olivia's full order neatly packaged with her receipt.

"We have one french vanilla, whipped icing cake with white chocolate covered strawberries."

"Yes, that is my order," Olivia said with a smile.

She collected the package and dropped a $10 bill in the tip jar then went back to her car and carefully placed the cake in the back seat. Next on her list was the party store, she ran in really quickly and grabbed everything on her mental list then headed to the market, which conveniently was right next door to the party store. She grabbed all the ingredients she needed to make her dish and then headed back to her apartment.

Fitz got word from Hal that Olivia was back in D.C. around 7 pm. Hal snapped a picture of her driving out of the apartment underground parking garage. He chuckled at the picture of Olivia in in her tiny silver convertible. She had on a pair of ray bans and her hair was thrown up in a messy bun. She couldn't help but smile at the picture, she looked so beautiful and unsuspecting carrying out everyday tasks.

"Lauren?" Fitz called loudly.

Within seconds Lauren was in the oval.

"Sir?"

"Did you get what I asked you to get?"

"Yes sir, Tom has it."

"Great."

Fitz checked the time, it was almost 8pm. He wrapped up what he was doing in the oval and headed to the residence to take a quick shower before heading over to Olivia's.

Olivia had to make a couple trips to get apartment to get everything upstairs. Once she had everything laid out, she put the cake, ice cream and strawberries in the refrigerator. It was getting late and she knew Fitz would be showing up any minute. She ran to the bathroom and grabbed a quick shower. By the time she was out and got dressed in her pajamas, she heard a knock at her door. She ran to the refrigerator and took the cake out and placed it on the coffee table and put the candles on top.

"Coming?" She called loudly as she finished setting everything up. When she finished she turned off all the lights and opened the door to let him in.

Fitz couldn't see anything as he entered the apartment.

"Liv why haven't you been answering my calls, I know you're doing it on purpose and it's not funny and why is it so dark in here?"

"I have a surprise for you."

"You do?"

"Yes."

"Well I have a surprise for you too."

"Really?" she asked with a smile even though Fitz couldn't see it.

"Yep."

Olivia reached over to the light switch.

"Okay close your eyes, I'm going to turn on the lights."

Fitz did as he was told and held his surprise behind his back.

"My eyes are closed," he replied.

"Okay 3...2...1."

She flicked the lights on.

"Open your eyes.

Fitz opened his eyes and his mouth dropped open.

"Happy belated birthday!" She screamed.

Fitz smiled widely.

"You did this for me?"

"Of course I did, I figured with everything that happened on your birthday, you didn't really get a chance to celebrate it and I think you deserve to be celebrated."

Olivia looked down, she could partially see what Fitz was holding behind his back but she wasn't sure. She looked back up at Fitz who was quietly staring at her and if he was thoroughly thinking something through.

"Fitz?" she said snapping him out of his haze.

He looked up at her and smiled then pulled the bouquet of red roses from behind his back.

Olivia Gasped.

"They're beautiful. I love them. Thank you."

She took them from him and headed to the kitchen.

"I'm gonna put them in some water."

Fitz was still shocked she would put so much effort into doing something for him. He stood frozen in the foyer waiting for her to come back.

Olivia put the roses on water and then came back to find Fitz standing in the same spot she left him.

"Fitz, what's wrong? You don't like it?"

He chuckled.

"I absolutely love it."

"Alright then come on, I've got big plans for tonight."

She took him by the hand and pulled him over to the couch.

She put the 'happy birthday' crown and sash on him.

Fitz laughed so hard she could see tears in his eyes.

"What? I'm giving you the whole experience."

He wiped his eyes.

"No, it's the fact that it says birthday princess that's killing me."

"Shut up! Equality for all and also this was all they had," she said laughing.

"So what exactly do you have planned for me?" Fitz asked.

"Well first, I'm am going to teach you how to make my world famous 'everything but the kitchen sink sundae' which is so good I only make it twice a year my birthday and then literally any other day."

Fitz chuckled.

"Alright chef. Teach me."

Olivia pulled him up and he followed her to the kitchen. She took everything out of the refrigerator and laid them on the kitchen island.

"So the secret is that we put every sweet, salty, crunchy, chewy thing we can find into the sundae."

Olivia got two bowls and laid them on the table.

"Get creative," she teased.

Fitz chuckled.

"I will."

Fitz watched as Olivia took two huge scoops of ice cream and put them in the bowl. She looked up at him, wide eyed.

"What? There is never too much ice-cream in my sundae."

She stopped and Fitz could see her thinking over her statement almost as if she knew what she triggered in his mind.

"Get your mind out of the gutter Fitz."

He laughed.

"You put it there."

She nudged him with her elbow playfully and Fitz chuckled.

Fitz put every sweet thing he could find in his sundae and watched Olivia as she did the same. Olivia took one of the gummy worms and fed it to Fitz, who ate it willingly. Olivia danced and sang and poked and prodded Fitz as they stood in the kitchen fixing their creations. They were almost done when Fitz took the can of whipped cream and sprayed it on top of his sundae.

"Any whipped cream for you Livie?"

"Are you kidding me, it wouldn't be complete without whipped cream."

"Are you sure?" he asked playfully.

"Yep."

"Okay."

He took the can of whipped cream and sprayed it on her nose.

Olivia gasped.

"It is so on."

Fitz took off and she chased him all the way to the living room and tackled him to the floor and got on top of him. The whipped cream slid down the her mouth and chin.

Fitz laughed and kissed it off. A soft kiss, nothing too explicit, he was saving that for later. Olivia blushed and smiled lovingly at him.

"Happy birthday Mr. President."

Fitz smiled.

"Say Mr. President again."

"Mr. President."

He tickled her sides.

"What was that?"

She was laughing so hard, she couldn't form a coherent sentence.

"Stoppppp," she tried to say as she laughed uncontrollably.

"Say Mr. President."

She laughed harder.

"Mr. President," she said breathlessly.

Fitz let her go and she dropped to the side and let on the carpet, trying to catch her breath.

Fitz got up and then helped her up as well.

"Come on, our ice cream is melting."

She smiled and followed him to the kitchen. Once she added whipped cream to her sundae, they took their bowls to the couch and sat down.

"Let play a game…"

"Ohh no, is it that crazy karaoke game again."

"No, it called 21 questions…"

Fitz sat up.

"Now this game, I like."

She laughed.

"Of course you do."

"Can I ask anything I want?"

"It's your belated birthday right?"

Fitz chuckled mischievously.

"Yes it is."

"Okay, you first," Olivia suggested.

Fitz rubbed his palms together and placed his ice cream on the coffee table.

"Favorite band, artist, song, movie, tv show, go."

She smiled.

"I didn't expect you to be so well behaved."

"I can't start r rated, I have to build up to it plus I want to know all the little details that make you who you are even things as simple as your favorite song."

She blushed.

"My favorite band is the strokes but I also love the arctic monkeys, foster the people and the sex pistols. My favorite artists have to be Lana del Rey, Nina simone and Bob Marley. My favorite song is gods and monster by Lana Del Rey. I love Star Wars and Star Trek and every Harry Potter movie ever. I'm a game of thrones cult member. I go to comic con every year and I dress up. My favorite tv show is Spartacus and Martin."

"Like I said, you are a total geek."

"My turn."

She said with a laugh.

"What's the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you during sex?"

Fitz smiled.

"You wasted no time."

He forehead creased as he tried to think.

"One time this girl tried put her finger in my butt."

"What?" Olivia said as she laughed.

"What did you do?" She asked.

"What do you think I did? I told her to do it again."

Olivia covered her mouth to stifle her laughs.

"You are disgusting."

"I'm kidding, I kicked her out of my dorm room but honestly it was more funny than it was embarrassing. She was my roommate's sister so imagine how awkward things were after that."

"What the most embarrassing thing that happened to you?"

"During sex?" She asked.

"Yea."

"I fell asleep and the guy got so mad he woke me up and stared at me for like 5 minutes then stormed out."

Fitz laughed.

"That's more embarrassing for him than it is for you, what was he doing so bad that made you fall asleep."

"Everything… okay my turn again. Have you ever been heartbroken?"

"No but I have been disappointed before. You?"

"I've never been emotionally invested in someone to get heartbroken or disappointed. My turn - how often do you masterbate?"

Fitz laughed.

"Too much."

It was Fitz's turn to ask a question.

"What was your first time like?"

"Well, it wasn't romantic or anything. I really just wanted to get it over with so I did it with Daniel one drunken night."

"Does being drunk make your memory falter?"

"No, when I'm drunk I'll remember everything but in a hazy looking through a keyhole kind of way, not crystal clear the way I would when I'm sober."

"When you say you remember everything, how much do you remember?"

"I count in my head, inadvertently but I do. It count time, how many steps I take etc. it's a habit I picked up to sort of keep my mind in check, if not I'll wonder and be reticent and enveloped in my own thoughts but to get back your question yes, I remember everything, distinctly how they happened. The time it happened, exact words, exact facial expression, exact emotion I was feeling. If I think hard enough on a memory, it's like it's happening all over again. It's kind of a curse."

"Are you kidding me, be able to remember everything sound pretty awesome."

Olivia scooted closer and folded her legs and faced him.

"Think about it this way, when you forget something, what's the worse that happens? You fail a test if you can't remember the answer, you get in an argument if you forget an anniversary. If you forget something you can always remember but if you always remember you can never forget. Remembering every single moment of your life in gross detail would be great if you had a perfect like but when bad things happen, the really bad things that you remember in so much detail that if you think about it too hard, you feel like it's happening all over again then it becomes a curse. I wish I could forget things, more than anything maybe I'd get decent sleep."

"You have trouble sleeping Livie?"

"Sometimes, most times it's just the nightmares but I'm used to it."

"What keeps you up?"

"It's your birthday, I don't want to depress you with my life stories."

Fitz pulled her closer and nestled her in his arms.

"The best gift you could give me it to let me get to know you better."

"At least let me sing you happy birthday so you can cut your cake and make a wish," she said with a smile.

"Let's do it."

Olivia jumped up.

"Let me go get the candles and your gift."

She ran to the kitchen and grabbed a lighter and then went to closet and to get his gift.

"Close your eyes," she said with the widest grin possible.

Fitz closed them.

She lit the dainty silver happy birthday candlesticks planted atop the cake.

"Open."

Fitz opened his eyes and smile. She placed his gift on the table beside the cake. He was about to take the gift when she pinched his arm.

"You have to open the gift after you blow out your candles."

Fitz smiled.

"Alright."

Olivia smiled and began singing.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday Mr. President, happy birthday to you."

She picked up his cake and held it up.

"Make a wish."

Fitz closed his eyes.

"I wish for a quick divorce so that I can be with Olivia because I love her," he said to himself and then opened his eyes and met her brown for eyes, staring intently at him.

He never admitted his love for her until that moment, not even to himself but it made him happy. His feelings for Olivia were so intense that he couldn't imagine it being anything other than love.

She could tell he was deeply thinking about something. She took her index finger and swiped some icing off the cake then rubbed it on his face.

"Whipped icing, my favorite," she said as she licked her finger.

Fitz laughed and wiped the icing of his face and tasted it.

"That's really good and I didn't know you could sing."

"Yeah right, I would like a dying walrus."

Fitz laughed

She placed the cake back on the table and handed him his gift.

"Open it."

He ripped off the wrapping paper and opened the tiny box. There was a flag pin in it.

"I won it at auction just for you, it has 48 stars on it, Eisenhower wore it and I -"

Olivia didn't get to finish her sentence before she felt Fitz's hands on her cheeks and his lips on her lips. He pulled her up from off the floor and sat her on his lap. She cupped his face and closed her eyes as she deepened the kiss. Fitz was ravaging her mouth, it was turning her on so much that she had to break the kiss because she was losing herself in it.

Fitz watched her as she panted softly and tried to catch her breath. He held her face as showered her with kisses. Olivia giggled wildly and buried her face in his chest.

"Thank you for this," Fitz whispered softly in her ear.

She looked up and smiled.

"You deserve a whole lot more."

Fitz chuckled.

"And you deserve the world."

Fitz remembered the conversation they were having before she distracted him with the cake cutting.

"So if I recall, we were in the middle of a conversation before you distracted me."

"Distracted you, I did no such thing."

"I'm learning all your little tricks Livie."

"Okay since it's still your birthday, sort of, I'll humor you, what do you want to know?"

"What's keeping you up at night?"

She palmed her face shyly.

"It's not that it keeps me up, I fall asleep I just have nightmares."

"About what?"

"Hey, do you think your agents what cake. Let me go ask them? Except for Tom, he doesn't get any cake."

"Quit changing the subject."

She rolled her eyes.

"Okay fine. It's just that I've been through some pretty messed up situations that's all."

"Like what?"

"Well…"

Fitz realized she was having a hard time talking about it.

"I don't mean to pressure you into saying anything you don't feel comfortable talking about."

"No it's uhm - hard to talk about but I want to tell you. I feel like I can tell you anything and you won't think any differently of me."

"You're right, I won't."

She smiled.

"Okay here goes. I kinda saw my mom die, well she was killed."

"She was killed?"

"Yea, some men broke into our house when my dad was out of town on a business trip. The robbery went bad and they killed her although I don't think it was a robbery, I think they came with the intention of killing her,"

"Why did you think that?"

"They knew too much, they knew our names, they knew when my dad was gonna be out of town, they even knew where I went to school. They were going to kill me too but the cops showed up. Evidently the neighbors heard the gunshots and called the cops and they showed up just in time."

Fitz listened intently.

"And then there's what happened in Africa…"

"What happened in Africa?"

"I...I almost got raped?"

"What?"

"Yeah."

"And your going back?" He asked shocked.

"Well you shot because you are the president but that doesn't mean you quit being president. I can't quit helping people who need help because of one unfortunate incident."

"That's hardly unfortunate, it's rape."

"Well they didn't actually get to do anything. I was in Sudan, working with children injured from the Sudan rebel wars. I was in Nyala, this rural town that was mostly sand and stone, anyways I was leaving the medical center one night, I ended up staying late because there was an attack on a nearby school and we had 47 kindergarteners and 1st graders that were badly injured come in all at the same time. It wasn't a far walk back to the our camp, but as I was walking with Abby and her boyfriend at the time but they didn't want a third wheel so they walked ahead. Out of nowhere three guys popped up out of a dark alley. They trailed me and I got so scared that I ran. They chased me and dragged me in the woods. One of them held a knife to my throat and held my hands, the other held my legs and the other began to undress himself. I'd never felt so helpless in my life, it was the worst feeling ever."

"How did you escape?"

"My dad is kind of in security, I didn't know it at the time but he had some of his guys watching me and they stopped it."

"I'm sorry that happened to you, I can't imagine how scary that must've been for you and I'm sorry about your mom, I know what it feels like to lose your mother and it's one of the worst feeling imaginable."

She kissed him on the cheek.

"I'm really sorry about your mom too."

He laid flat on the couch and pulled her into his side.

"Thanks for sharing that with me."

"Thanks for listening, I feel better getting that off my chest, you're the first person I've told about those things, not even Abby knows and she's like my sister."

"I'm grateful that you told me, now I feel like I understand you a little better."

She looked up at him and tried to change the subject.

"Are you sure we shouldn't offer your agents some cake, it's really good cake."

Fitz sat up.

"I have barely tasted my cake. I'll call them, why don't you cut it in slices."

Olivia took the cake to the kitchen and cut it into slices as she waited for Fitz to return with his agents. A couple minutes later, Fitz came back with 6 guards and Tom in tow. Fitz heard a chuckle behind him and turned around to see Tom laughing quietly, so were a few of the other guards. He remembered that he still had in the birthday sash and crown Olivia put on him.

"Not funny guys."

He slipped them off and placed them on the couch.

"Liv, they're here."

She brought like plates with cake to the living room and gave everyone except Tom.

"Tom, you don't get any cake, don't think I've forgotten how you handcuffed me in the hospital," she scolded.

"I was just following orders ma'am."

"You know some of the most atrocious acts of violence committed throughout history were done by men just following orders, care to comment Tom?"

Fitz started laughing, he couldn't help it, so did some of the other guards. Tom stood still, not moving or answering like a child being scolded. Olivia walked over and patted him on the arm.

"Loosen up Tom, I did cut you a slice."

She walked over to the kitchen island and grabbed Tom's slice.

"Does anyone want anything to drink? I have beer?"

Olivia thought about it for a second.

"Okay maybe not beer, how about water? Water sounds good, yeah?"

She answered her own question and walked away to grab bottles of water.

She handed the bottles of water around and then sat in the couch beside Fitz. The agents stood and ate the cake but they didn't speak.

"So do you guys ever speak?"

They all looked at her confused.

"I'm just saying that you guys don't have to be all stoic all the time, having a personality doesn't make you any less capable."

She looked at Tom.

"How was your day Tom?"

"Good ma'am," he answered, he didn't feel comfortable speaking to her.

"My name is Olivia."

"Olivia," Tom replied.

Olivia made her way around the room questioning all the guards until they loosened up and actually began having decent conversations with her. Fitz was surprised, his agents didn't speak unless spoken to, he really didn't expect them to converse so well with Olivia but they did and it made him happy.


	8. Chapter 8

Fitz sat in the Oval Office reminiscing about last night. It was perfect. Olivia shared so much with him and it was like the more he got to know her the deeper he fell in love with her. He found himself not wanting to be away from her, it was new for him. It was 10 in the morning and already he felt the need to know what she was doing. He pulled out his cell and called her. She picked up on the third ring.

"What's up handsome."

He smiled.

"Did I wake you?"

"No, not at all. I've been up for hours."

"Oh okay, what are you going to be doing today?"

"I have a conference call about an operation that I might do. I also have to get paperwork in order so I can start working at James Madison again to keep myself busy."

"You're leaving again?"

"I don't know as yet, I'm gonna decide that when I hear the condition of the patient and whether or not I'm the only one that can help her."

"Would you be gone for another week again?"

"No, not every case is as serious as that one."

"Oh yeah, how did it go? I forgot to ask last night."

"She's recovering. The surgery took 14 hours and 34 minutes but it was a success."

"How do you manage to perform surgery for that long, do you get a break?"

"No, I didn't get a break."

"Don't you get low blood sugar from not eating for so long or tired."

"No, in a situation like that, your body supplies you with a steady flow of adrenaline and steroids that keep you functioning without the need to eat. Once the high stakes portion of the surgery is over and you get to the technical phase, it catches up with you."

"Wow, that's interesting to know."

"So what's going on with your day?"

"Nothing much, making a visit to capitol hill in a half hour and then I have a few back to back meetings."

"Sounds like fun," she teased.

Cyrus walked in.

"Sir we need to talk."

"Not now Cy I'm in the middle of a very important phone call."

"What is this about a divorce I'm hearing, you're kidding me right?" Cyrus said incredulously.

"Can you give me one moment," Fitz said into the phone.

"Sure," Olivia replied.

Fitz turned his attention back to Cyrus.

"I'm only gonna tell you this once Cyrus, whether I am or am not getting a divorce is none of your business. You are my assistant, why don't you act like."

"So you are getting a divorce? Have you lost your mind?"

"Cyrus I'm done talking to you."

"Fitz! You need to think this through. Do you want to alienate the evangelicals when elections are so close."

"Elections are two years away," Fitz didn't bother to raise his voice. He spoke calmly and evenly.

"All I'm saying is wait till you get out of office, I hate mellie just as much as the next guy but you need to be a united front. A president has never had a divorce in office before."

"There is a first time for everything."

"Fitz."

"Cyrus I said I'm done talking."

"Fitz you need to think about the consequ-"

"GET OUT OF MY OFFICE! I SAID I'M DONE TALKING!" Fitz screamed.

Cyrus sighed and walked out.

"Liv? You there?"

"God! Your temper tantrums are so sexy."

Fitz laughed.

"You see what I have to deal with. They all want one thing or another from me. It's frustrating."

"Don't let them force you to do anything you don't want to. You don't live for them and you don't owe them anything. Live for yourself and your son, those are the only two people you owe anything."

"You don't think your important to me too. Do you not understand my affections for you at all?"

Olivia didn't know what to say. She was speechless, which was unusual for her.

"I'll talk to you later Olivia."

Fitz hung up.

She was confused as to why he got upset, she couldn't just insert into his life and make assumptions. In her heart she knew how much he meant to her but she wasn't sure how much she meant to him.

She sat on the couch deep in thought until Harrison called to prep her for the conference call. After half hour speaking with Harrison, he added the doctor from Florida to the call.

"Hello Dr. Pope, thank you for taking my call."

"My pleasure Dr. Wen, what can I do for you?"

"I have a top gymnast who was in training for the 2012 olympics. She is 15 years old and a real contender to get a gold medal in the London olympics all around title and she's the current national champion. She fell from the uneven bars, I believe it's called and she completely ruptured the occipital lobe which as you know is the part of the brain that deals with vision, she has lost 100% of her vision. She's devastated and the procedure is inoperable, there is no way we can fix it but you might."

"That's quite interesting, is there any pain or discomfort?"

"No, just loss of sight."

"This will definitely be a challenge for me, restoring vision, there is no guarantee it would work."

"But if it does and you give this girl her sight back that puts you in some interesting company, don't you think?"

Olivia chuckled.

"I'll be there in tomorrow to examine the patient, please fax all the brain scans you've completed to my assistant."

"I like look forward to seeing you Dr. Pope and once again, thank you for taking my call."

"You a very welcome, I'll see you tomorrow, my assistant will hammer out my travel arrangements with you."

"Thank you."

Olivia hung up. Harrison would plan the trip and hammer out the details. She still had to go to James Madison hospital to sort out document to work the trauma room with Stephen who hadn't stopped begging her since she came to D.C. She showered quickly and dressed in her favorite pair of vintage high rise skinny Levi's with a rip at the knee and a white t shirt. She pulled her hair into a high bun and put her mascara on and headed out. It was a quick drive to the hospital, Stephen waited for her in the lobby.

"Liv? I haven't seen you in forever."

Stephen greeted her with a big hug.

"You look annoyed," he said as he stepped back and observed her body language.

"No I'm fine, I just came to drop off a copy of my medical license and ID."

She handed him the legal size envelope.

"Yay so I can annoy you for the next few weeks until you leave for Doctors Without Borders."

"I'm looking forward to that," she said sarcastically.

"DR. FINCH TO THE ER PLEASE. DR. FINCH TO THE ER."

Stephen smiled.

"Gotta go," he said a he waved goodbye and rushed to the er.

"Later Stephanie," she teased.

"Come on Liv, I hate it when you call me that," he called down the hallway.

She chuckled.

"Just go."

Stephen turned and disappeared behind the double doors.

She turned and walked through the automatic doors back the garage to get her car.

She drove to a Mexican restaurant by the waterfront near her apartment. She ordered herself a chicken ensalada and sat on the park bench by the marina and watched the waves ripple back and forth. She had been sitting for all of 5 minutes when Abby called.

"What's up Abby?"

"Paul returned the necklace."

Olivia almost choked on her salad.

"He did? How?"

"He dropped it off in a bag in front of the apartment."

"Did you tell the detective?"

"I did, I'm headed there now with the necklace, they wanted to speak to you but I told them you were out of town."

"Great, I'm glad he brought it back, it would've been a shame to lose a necklace that beautiful."

"It would be and I'm sorry about this whole thing."

"Don't apologize, you didn't do anything wrong and even if I did lose the necklace, it's replaceable but you aren't."

"God I don't know how thank you, you paid for my college and you've been putting me up for years now."

"Shut up, you'd do the same for me."

Abby chuckled.

"I sure would. What are you doing?"

"I'm eating a delicious chicken salad."

"What's in it."

"Grilled chicken, avocado, cotija cheese, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, radish and sour cream."

"Oh my god, that's making me wet."

"Abby you are so weird, get off my phone."

"What, food gets me horny, you're a neurologist, you know it's normal."

Olivia changed the subject.

"Are you ready for Doctors Without Borders. I think this year will be extra exciting."

"I'm so freaking ready, I just want to get away. Once I finish my residency next month I'm free. It just sucks that I won't be a licensed doctor and I'll still have to be your sidekick but pretty soon I'll be a doctor too."

"And I'll be extremely proud of you once you are."

"Thanks Liv."

"You're welcome Abby."

"I'm walking into the precinct right now so I'll call you later."

"Okay, keep me posted."

Olivia hung up.

She finished her salad and then headed home.

Fitz sat in the oval having just returned from Capitol Hill. He was waiting for the joint chiefs to arrive so he could get his meetings over with. He knew he needed to talk with Olivia but he wanted to do it in person. He didn't know why he got so angry at their conversation, she didn't say anything wrong he just didn't like the fact that she didn't include herself in the bubble of people he should care about. He was gonna make sure he found he way over to her apartment, first thing after his meeting were adjourned so he could apologize.

The meetings lasted for hours, much to Fitz's chagrin but once they were over, he didn't bother going to the residence he just had Tom take him straight to the car. He arrived at Olivia's apartment just after 9pm. He knocked for a few minutes but there was no reply. He pulled out his cell and dialed Olivia's number.

She picked up on the first ring.

"Hello?"

"I'm in front of your door why aren't you answering?"

"I'm not at my apartment I am at the pool."

He was glad that she didn't seem upset.

"Where is it?"

"It's on the roof."

"I'm coming."

"No, there are other people here, give me three minutes. I'm coming down now."

"Okay."

Olivia got out of the pool quickly and grabbed her towel then headed down. She was there within minutes. She swiped her key card quickly and let him in and immediately began scolding him.

"Are you crazy? What if someone saw you? You're being reckless."

"You went swimming?" He said with a smile, ignoring her questions.

B They were absolutely valid, he was being reckless but he couldn't help it.

She took the towel from around her body and wrapped it around her hair that was dripping water all over the floor.

"Duh," she said with a roll of her eyes.

Fitz smiled so widely at her cheekiness that she burst out laughing.

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead.

"I'm sorry about earlier, I want to be with you freely and openly but I'm married and everywhere I turn the people around me are shoving this marriage down my throat."

She caressed his cheek.

"You're frustrated I know but give it time, it'll work itself out plus I'm not going anywhere…"

He smiled and then he took a quick peek at her body. He immediately felt the blood rush down the a particularly sensitive part of his body.

"Did you just sneak a peek?"

"Yes."

She had on a tiny white string bikini that left little to the imagination.

"Do you have any idea how sexy you look right now."

"I am very aware of my sexuality and guess what, I love that."

She looked down.

"Oh my god, are you erect right now?" she covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"Uncomfortable? You mean horny? I just wanna jump on right now."

Fitz laughed.

"I need a cold bath Fitz."

She turned around and headed to the bathroom but then stopped and walked back to Fitz and took the towel from off of her head and wrapped it around his waist to hide the stiffness in his pants.

"Great, I can't see it anymore. Out of sight, out of mind."

Fitz loved that she wanted him as bad as he wanted her. He sat on the couch and took a few deep breath and tried to clear his mind. Unfortunately her being out of his sight didn't get her out of his mind, he couldn't stop thinking about her perfect curves and caramel skin. He took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeve. He still felt bothered so he loosened his tie and leaned back on the couch.

He couldn't get her out of his mind, all the different ways he wanted to bend her over and make her scream his name was in a constant loop in his head.

"Liv?"

He thought maybe conversing with her would take his mind off of her body, she had a special way of making him focus on her and her only.

"Liv?" He called again but he didn't get a reply.

He got up and went to find her.

He didn't hear the shower running so he knocked on the bathroom door.

"Liv?"

"Yes, come in, I'm decent, sort of."

He opened the door and let himself in. She was in the bathtub covered in bubbles. She had one leg hanging over the side of the tub.

"I'm losing my mind out there."

She laughed.

"Step into my office Mr. president."

Fitz sat on the rug beside the tub.

"How was your day Livie?"

"I have to go to Miami tomorrow for a patient."

"Oh come on?"

"What? I'll be back in the evening, I'm only going to examine her. She's an elite gymnast and she fell on one of the apparatus' and ruptured her occipital lobe and went blind, I'm hoping to fix that so she can go to the olympics. Based on her CT scans, I think I might be able to pull it off."

"If you managed to bring her sight back that would be amazing."

She smiled.

"I know right?"

"But you'll be back here tomorrow night? Right?"

"I promise I will."

"Okay, I'm gonna hold you to that ."

He leaned over the tub and puckered his lips and Olivia raise herself up and met him with a soft kiss on the lips.

"You truly are beautiful, you know that right?"

She smiled.

"Of course I do Fitz, you only tell me that once or twice everyday."

"I can't help it," he said with a sly smile.

His smile always sent her heart racing.

"Oh come here you big dummy."

She grabbed him by his tie and pulled him into the tub on top of her.

"You are a strong little thing aren't you?"

She grabbed his face and kissed him hungrily. She wrapped her legs tightly around him. Fitz's wet clothes clung to his body. She closed her eyes as they explored every inch, every corner, every crevice of each other's mouths. It was euphoric, even after they broke the kiss so they could catch their breath, Olivia found herself not wanting to let go of him. Fitz was leaning over her in the tub, his body was over hers but not quite touch her. They foreheads touched as they stared deeply into each other eyes. The eye contact made her skin feel like it was on fire.

Fitz stood up and stepped out of the tub and stared at Olivia.

"Wow," was all he could say.

Olivia sat up. There was so much soapy suds all over her that he couldn't see her breasts and he thanked god because he was holding on by a thread. She loved the fact that no matter how much he wanted her, he always maintained some degree of self control. It turned her on.

"Come on Liv, you're killing me."

She smiled.

"I'm sorry, I'm gonna wash this soap off my body."

"Okay but your entire apartment is gonna be wet…"

Fitz walked out to give her a minute.

After 5 minutes Olivia emerged from the bathroom in a towel robe.

"Strip."

Fitz raised his eyebrow.

"We have to dry your clothes. Don't worry, I'll be a good girl, I won't sneak a peek."

Fitz smiled. She handed him a robe and went to get dressed, while Fitz undressed down to this boxers.

She came back dressed in her pajamas. She took his wet clothes and left to the building laundry room and dried them. When she came back, she couldn't help but smile at what she saw. Fitz sat in the couch watching basketball, drinking a beer. He looked so normal.

"Is this low calorie beer?"

"Yeah."

"It's disgusting."

"But you're drinking it so shut up."

Fitz laughed.

She plopped down on the couch and laid in his lap.

"Who do you want to win?" She asked.

"Lakers of course,"

"Well I hope they lose," she teased.

The next morning Olivia had to catch a flight for 9am. It was a 3 hour flight and she managed to get to the hospital by 2pm. She met Dr. Wen by the front desk and she escorted her up to her patient's room.

Olivia walked into the room and Dr. Wen introduced her to everyone in the room.

"Hello everyone, this is Olivia Pope, the specialist I was telling you about. She agreed to examine you to see if she can help you."

"Hi, Dr. Pope, I'm Leila, Marisa's mom."

Olivia shook Leila's hand.

"Thank you so much for agreeing to see her."

"You are welcome Leila and please call me Olivia."

Olivia looked over to the bed and saw Marisa. Her eyes were blank and unfocused, not looking at anything in particular.

"Hi Marisa, I'm Olivia."

"Hi, Olivia, thank you for seeing me."

"Well, I couldn't help it, I heard your a gymnast and I love gymnastics, I'm a total fan."

Marisa smiled.

Olivia sat by her bed.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"Well, I was working my uneven bar routine that I was perfecting for the world team trials and I fell. I was doing a pac salto into a full in, back out dismount and I lost my grip on the bar and fell and hit my head and immediately, I couldn't see anything."

"What do you see, black or white?"

"Everything is black."

Olivia took the mini flashlight from the table and turned it on. She flash it into her eyes.

"Your eyes still react to light, that's a great sign."

"Really?" Marisa asked excitedly.

"Yes, based on all the information Dr. Wen sent me, I could conclude that your eyes are still perfectly functional. The problem is your occipital lobe, it's so damaged that it isn't transmitting signals to your optical nerve, that is why you can't see. Your eyes are working but they just aren't receiving any information. Thus causing the blindness."

"So that means you can fix it?"

"That means that, I'll do the procedure."

"Yay. Thank you so much."

Olivia smiled.

"Well, I'm going to speak with Dr. Wen, and I just want you to know that this procedure works in stages. We need to harvest you stems cells, Dr. Wen will perform that surgery. Once that is done, we'll give you a few days rest then I will perform the transplant surgery. After the surgery, once we gauge the success, you might need a few laser eye treatments to get your vision back 100%."

"So how soon do you think I'll be able to start training again?" Marisa asked.

"With brain injuries, fatigue is sometimes one of the biggest symptoms, once the procedure is over, you will need a few weeks rest, fortunately I won't need to cut into your brain, I'll inject the accelerated cell into your occipital lobe, so recovery time will be significantly less. I would say, two weeks recovery then you can begin building your endurance."

"Oh my gosh, I'm so excited, thank you so much."

"Your welcome just promise me, I'll see you in London in 2012 okay."

"I promise and when I win, I'll dedicate my gold medal to you."

Olivia smiled and patted her on the leg.

She excused herself and went to discuss the details of the injury and procedure with Dr. Wen.

She left the hospital at 6pm and was back in D.C at 11pm. She called Fitz from the airport since he's been so busy earlier she barely got to speak with him.

"Sorry, I couldn't speak earlier, some international conflict I had to resolve."

"So basically a regular day," she teased.

"Yep. How did it go?"

"Her eyes are working, it's just her brain that's damaged, brains I can fix so I'm confident the procedure will work. She's the current national gymnastics champion you know."

"Really, her name is Marisa Huntington right? I met her after nationals earlier this year. They came to the White House to take pictures with me."

"Really? She's a sweet girl."

"Yes, I'm really glad you can help her."

Olivia smiled.

"So what are you doing?"

"I'm in the Oval Office, reading briefings."

"Ew."

He laughed.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm parked my car for the day at the airport, I'm walking to it right now then I'm heading home and I'm sleeping like there's no tomorrow."

"Okay call me when you get home sweetie."

"I will."

"Oh and Livie"

"Yes."

"You mean the world to me, don't forget that."

She smiled and was about to say something but he hung up.


	9. Chapter 9

A week later…

Fitz left Olivia's apartment at 7 in the morning. It's was the latest, he'd ever left before. It was a Saturday morning and he arrived just in time for he and Gerry's Saturday morning run. They'd began their weekly run since Gerry began playing football in middle school. Fitz hated running but Gerry loved it so he compromised.

He changed into sweats and a t-shirt and met Gerry in his room.

"Morning Ger. You ready?"

"Yeah dad, I'm just grabbing my running shoes."

"Okay, I'm gonna grab a bottle of water from the kitchen, you want one?"

"Yea and then I'll meet you down there."

"Alright."

Fitz left for the kitchen to get the waters. Gerry met him shortly after.

"You ready old man?"

"I'm young at heart."

Gerry laughed.

"Keep up dad," he said as he jogged out of the kitchen and onto the trail.

They jogged lightly down the path.

"So what going on with you?" Fitz asked.

"Uhm there's this girl at school I like," he said awkwardly.

"Really? Tell me about her? Are you gonna ask her out on a date?"

"Dude, calm down. She doesn't even know I like her yet. I haven't told her."

Fitz chuckled.

"Why not?"

"I'm afraid."

"Don't be. You don't have to profess your feelings for her, not at first. Ask her out on a date, something simple like going to see a movie, she won't say no just make sure she doesn't have a boyfriend."

"How are you so sure she won't say no?"

"Look at you, you're almost as good looking as me, how can she turn that down?"

Gerry slapped his arm.

"DAD," he scolded.

"I'm kidding. Maybe…"

Gerry laughed.

"Okay, I'll take your advice and ask her out."

"Great. What's her name?"

"Kenna. She's so pretty dad, you should see her and she on the cheerleading squad and she gets straight A's."

"Pretty and smart, that's good but is she kind?"

"She is. She really is great dad."

"Then go for it."

"Okay on Monday I'll ask her out."

"Don't forget to bring your Grant charm, ladies can't resist that."

"Mom can, she hates you," Gerry teased.

"She sure does but it wasn't always that way. My Grant charm wore off."

Gerry laughed.

"Oh yea and dad, I've been having some weird headaches for the past few days."

Fitz stopped running.

"Are they bad?"

"No not really just annoying."

"When did it start?"

"A couple days ago."

"I think we should get it checked out."

"I don't think they're that serious."

"Yeah but I want to be sure."

Then Fitz had an idea.

"Why don't I have Olivia come and take a little at you."

"Olivia your hot doctor Olivia?"

"She's not my doctor anymore but yes."

"Are you sure she'll check me out?"

"Yeah, I'll ask her."

"Okay great. When do you think she can come?"

"She should be able to come today. She's in town and she leaves for a surgery in Florida on Wednesday, so it's better to get it done today."

Fitz accidentally revealed a little too much I and realized after.

"You and her keep in touch?"

"Yeah, we're friends."

"Oh okay that's cool, you need friends," Gerry teased.

The ran for a little while longer and then Gerry started the conversation again.

"Dad, remember my football game on Tuesday. You can't miss it. It's the first football game of the season."

"Only death will keep me away from your game on Tuesday."

Gerry laughed.

"Great, I'm so excited. My coach is making me start the game."

"Congrats but I'm not surprised, you've always been great at football. What position are you playing quarterback or wide receiver?"

"Since, I'm a sophomore, the couch is starting me as wide receiver, they already have a senior quarterback."

"Okay, well you'll be quarterback soon enough."

"Thanks dad."

Gerry paused.

"Dad can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"I heard mom telling uncle Cyrus that you asked her for a divorce. Is that true?"

Fitz stopped jogging and tried to catch his breath.

"I did."

"When were you gonna tell me?"

"When your mom signed."

"Oh okay."

"How do you feel about it?"

"Honestly, I'm okay with it. You two need to be apart although I really want to stay at the White House with you."

"Are you kidding me? Of course you're staying with me."

Gerry chuckled.

"Great."

The jogged for a few more minutes before the were back at the rose garden. They headed to the residence together and then went their separate ways to shower and freshen up. Once Fitz was out the shower, he called Olivia. He knew she was off today so she would be available. She picked up on the second ring.

"Hello tight buns."

"Tight buns?"

"Yes, last night when I was feeling you up, I discovered that you have a great, firm ass so from now on I'll call you tight buns."

Fitz laughed.

"That sounds reasonable."

"I'm nothing if not reasonable."

"I'm glad you said that because I need a favor."

"What do you need?"

"Gerry told me he'd been having some mild headaches. I was hoping that you check him out."

"Are you kidding, me of course,"

"Thank you, I'll send Tom for you."

"When?"

"In an hour maybe?"

"Okay, that sounds good, I'm gonna go get ready."

"Okay babe, I'll talk to you later."

Fitz hung up. He went to the oval to get some work done. He sent Tom to pick Olivia up a short while after and once she was on her way, he called Gerry to his office. Gerry showed up with a bunch of folders.

"What's all of that?"

"Homework, I figured I could sit in here with you while I do it."

"Pull up a chair buddy."

"Dad, come on, enough with the buddy, I'm not a baby," Gerry whined.

"I'm always gonna call you that, get over it," Fitz said with a chuckle.

Twenty minutes later, Mellie walked in.

"Fitz we need to talk,"

She didn't know that Gerry was there.

"Gerry, what are you doing here?"

"I'm hanging with dad."

"Can you give us a minute so your father and I can talk."

Gerry looked at Fitz.

"Mellie we were in the middle of something, I'll talk to you later okay," he made sure his voice was pleasant. He didn't want to argue with Mellie and he was getting a little anxious because Olivia would be there any minute.

"No, I want to talk to you know. This divorce thing has gone to far, having your lawyer calling and harassing me? Are you serious?"

"Mellie. Not. Now."

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Olivia and Tom walked in.

"Livie, thank you for coming."

Mellie was confused.

"Olivia Pope? What are you doing here?"

"If you talked with Gerry at all you'd know he's been having headaches. I asked Olivia to examine him."

Gerry walked over to Olivia and shook her hand.

"Thanks for agreeing to see me."

Olivia smiled at Gerry.

"No, it's no problem at all."

Mellie looked over to Fitz, who was absently smiling at Olivia. It burned her to her core, the way Fitz looked at Olivia. He had so much love in his eyes. She was disgusted and immediately she began to connect the dots. She had no affection for him but Olivia was a very beautiful woman and whether or not she loved Fitz, her ego couldn't take watching him look at her like that. She felt like the outsider in their triage and they also seemed to be waiting for her to leave. So she decided to stay and meddle.

"So Olivia, how have things been since I last saw you?"

"They've been great Mellie, I can't complain."

"It's Mrs. Grant," Mellie corrected.

"And I'm Dr. Pope but I figured since no one was using titles…"

Olivia walked to Gerry.

"Can you have a seat Gerry, so I can take a look at what's going on?"

Gerry sat on the chair.

At this point, Fitz was giving Mellie the death stare waiting for her to leave.

"So Dr. Pope, I'm grateful you were able to come on such short notice," Mellie began.

"I wonder what Fitz had to do to you to get you to come here so quickly," Mellie worded her sentence purposely to see if she could get a reaction from Olivia to confirm her suspicions.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Grant but if the conversation could wait, I'm trying to examine your son," Olivia said without looking up at Mellie.

Fitz walked over to Mellie.

"That's enough, get out," he whispered so Olivia and Gerry couldn't hear.

"This conversation is not over," she said through clenched teeth and then stormed out.

He turned around and walked over to Gerry and Olivia.

"I'm sorry about that."

Olivia pulled her stethoscope out of her bag and checked Gerry's heart and lungs.

"Don't worry about," she said casually.

She used two fingers and pressed at different point on and around Gerry's skull, feeling for any swelling.

"Any pain?"

"No?"

"Did you hit your head at any point?"

"I never hit my head but I got tackled pretty hard a two days ago, now that I think about it, my headaches started after that."

"One a scale of 1-10, how is the pain."

"It's not really painful, I would say 3, it's more annoying than it is painful."

"When was your last headache?"

"Yesterday around noon."

She pulled out her flashlight and flashed them in his eyes to check his response.

"Okay got it, you have a mild concussion."

"I do?"

"Yep."

"But I didn't hit my head."

"Yes but there was still trauma to your brain."

"How?"

"The brain is a very soft organ and it's surrounded by spinal fluid. When you got tackled, the impact of the tackle shook you up, it just slight bruising, nothing to worry about."

"So I can play my game on Tuesday?"

"Yes, you can just make sure your getting plenty of rest at night okay."

"You got it doc."

Gerry gave her a fist pump which caused Olivia to laugh.

"I don't think the headache will come back but if it does, call me."

She handed him her card.

"Thanks Dr. Pope."

"Friends call me Olivia."

She gave him a wink.

"Thank you Olivia."

Gerry was grinning from ear to ear. Fitz had been watching them silently interact the entire time and he was smiling too.

"Thanks Liv."

She stood up straight.

"No problem."

Gerry turned and began doing his homework again.

"What are you guys up too?"

"I'm reviewing propositions," Fitz said.

"I'm doing homework and it's kicking my ass."

"What are you worked my on?"

"It's a bunch of random questions my math professor gave me. Three really complex math problems, whoever gets all three correct gets an A on homework for the rest of the marking period."

"What are the problems?"

"The first is Carbon dating and Radioactive isotopes and figuring out their half lives. I'm trying to find the date of fossil using carbon-14. The fossil has 35% carbon-14 compared to the original sample. I need to figure out how old the fossil is."

"Well, carbon-14 has a half life of 5730, so that means that the fossil is 8680 years old."

"Woah, how did you get that?"

"Well, when you substitute (t) which is the variable for carbon-14 to the half power times the total of the logarithm function times 35% divided by (-0.693) you get 8680. I can write it down if you'd like."

"Please do. How are you doing that without a calculator?"

She smiled.

"Because I'm a total geek, that's why."

He gave her a sheet of paper and she wrote the problem for him and explained it again and he understood.

"Wow do you think maybe you can help me with the rest," Gerry asked hopefully.

"Of course."

Gerry jumped up.

"I'll get you a chair."

He ran over to grab her a chair and sat it next to his.

"Okay, next I need to find the time it would take to travel from Copenhagen to Tegucigalpa if traveling at the speed of light?"

Olivia smiled.

"Okay, light travels at 299,792,458 meters per second. Let's do some math…"

Fitz had long lost understanding of what Olivia was saying. Olivia quickly helped Gerry with at his math problems. Once they were done, Gerry packed up his math folder.

"Hey uhm Olivia, do you know German? I have homework from German class."

"I'm fluent in German, I can help."

Mellie stormed back to the residence. She was seething. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed big Gerry. He didn't pick up but she knew he was coming by later so she decided to wait. Instead she called Cyrus and set up a meeting with him so that when Gerry came, she could speak to them both.

Back in the Oval Office, Olivia and Gerry finished up with the assignments and then Fitz and Gerry walked her back to the car so Tom could drop her home.

Once they began walking back to the oval, Gerry decided to ask all the questions that were running through his mind during his encounter with Olivia.

"So dad, you and Olivia are friends?"

"Yeah."

"Just friends?"

Fitz turned to look at him.

"Why do you ask?"

"Dad, I saw the way you looked at her. You were looking at her like you loved her."

Fitz wasn't sure what to say so he didn't say anything. They got back to the Oval Office and Gerry asked again.

"Do you love her dad?"

"I do."

Gerry was silent for a while. Fitz wondered if he did the right thing by being honest with Gerry.

"I don't blame you. She's smart, pretty and nice and well you deserve to be happy plus you're getting a divorce soon right."

"Olivia and I aren't together though, we're just friends and I think it's important that you know that."

Gerry laughed.

"Oh please dad, I know you and Olivia get your freak on," Gerry teased.

"Gerry!" Fitz tried to scold him but he ended up laughing.

"Dad, you gave me the birds and bees talk years ago plus I've had sex ed, I know where babies come from."

"This conversation is over."

"Dude come on, tell me about Livie?" Gerry teased.

Fitz grabbed him and gave him a noogie.

"Dad stop, ahh come on. Quit it, I'll shut up," Gerry begged.

Fitz let him go.

"Don't you ever forget who's boss around here," Fitz said as he laughed.

"I'll get you back dad."

Meanwhile Mellie sat in Cyrus' office waiting for Gerry to show up. Cyrus was annoyed that she insisted on not telling him what was going on until big Gerry came. They waited impatiently for about 15 minutes before Big Gerry showed up.

"This better be good Mellie?" Gerry said as he walked in.

"I think Fitz and the doctor are together," she announced.

Immediately Cyrus rolled his eyes.

"What doctor?"

"Olivia Pope, the doctor we forced to say and take care of him."

"Why do you think that?"

"She was here today examining Gerry. You should have seen the way he was looking at her."

"Where's your proof?" Gerry asked.

"He was looking at her?" Cyrus said incredulously.

"It was the way he was looking at her, trust me she's the reason he wants a divorce."

"She's young and hot and he looked at her, he probably wants to screw her, hell, I'd screw her but you've got to be an idiot if you think him looking at her proves anything."

"Gerry, she could be your grandchild, you pervert."

"Careful Mellie," he warned.

Mellie sighed.

"He's been sleeping out. He slept out three night for the past week and even more nights before that."

"Where does he go?" Cyrus asked.

"I don't know but-"

"See Mellie there's the problem, you don't know anything. You are speculating, when you have proof, then we can talk until then, don't call me."

"I'm telling you, he brought up this whole divorce thing after he came from the hospital, it has to be her."

"Goodbye Mellie," Cyrus said dismissively.

Gerry turned his heel and walked out, Mellie followed.

Later in the night, Fitz made his way over to Olivia's once again. In the week past, he'd only been there three times because he had to go out of town to deal with a crisis in Boston. He knocked the door and waited for her to open it. She had the widest smile on her face when she opened the door.

"What's gotten into you smiley?"

"What? Can't I just be happy to see you," she said coyly.

He took off his shoes at his usual spot and headed to the couch.

She sat beside him.

"So Gerry's really cool."

Fitz chuckled.

"He's a great kid and since you decided to go all Einstein and help him with his homework, he won't shut up about you."

Olivia smiled.

"I'm glad I could help,"

He gave her a peck on the lips and she smiled.

"So what was up with Mellie earlier?" She asked.

Fitz was about to answer when her phone rang.

"One sec."

She looked at the caller Id and it was Harrison so she picked up.

"Harry what's going on?"

"Uhm I kinda wanted to tell you something…"

"What?"

"Don't get mad okay."

"Why would I get mad?"

"Abby's seeing Paul again."

"WHAT?"

"Yeah, I popped by your apartment earlier and he was there. She's saying that he apologized and she's going to give him a second chance, I didn't even know they were that serious to begin with, I thought they were just hooking up and it went south."

"Unbelievable."

"Yeah, she begged me not to tell you but I had to because I think you should talk to her, I don't trust that he won't hurt her again."

Olivia took a deep breath.

"I'm gonna call her right now."

"Okay."

She hung up and dialed Abby right away. Fitz sat quietly, a little fascinated by what was going on. He'd never seen her angry before and he was eager to see her in action.

The phone almost went to voicemail before she picked up. Olivia didn't give her a chance to say anything.

"Abby please don't tell me you have a wanted man in my apartment," she said angrily through the phone.

"Liv he apologized."

"Abigail, he punched you in your face and stole a necklace worth millions of dollars from me. By inviting him back into my apartment after what he did you're basically saying fuck me in a roundabout way."

"I'm sorry if you feel that way but he's changed."

"Abigail, get him out of my apartment right now. I feel like it's disrespectful as fuck that you even brought him back there in the first place, I don't have rules Abby, you can do whatever you want, what's mine is yours, you know that but I also expect you to be considerate."

"I'm sorry, I won't bring him back here."

"Okay, I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Olivia hung up.

"What happened?" Fitz asked.

"Abby brought that asshole back to my apartment. I can't believe her."

"Yeah that's very risky."

She sat back on the couch.

"I'm sorry I got so angry."

"No, it's okay, if that was you being angry then I have nothing to worry about when it's time for you to be angry at me, that was pretty calm."

Olivia chuckled.

"Compared to your tantrums you mean?"

"Hey, I thought you said those were sexy."

"They are," she said with an eyebrow wiggle.

Fitz stood up.

"I have to use the bathroom."

He walked off.

"Do not leave the seat up, I will disembowel you."

"I leave the seat up one time and you won't shut up about it," he said with a chuckle.

The moment Fitz stepped into the bathroom, the pain began. She covered her ears and closed her eyes. She got so dizzy, she stumbled off the couch and fell to the floor.

When Fitz came out the bathroom, he didn't see her on the couch.

"Liv?"

He walked over to the couch and saw her curled up on the floor, whimpering softly. In a panic, he dropped to the floor beside her, he'd never experienced one of her episodes before so it was a total shock to him but after he initially froze, he remembered what she told him to do if she ever had an attack when he was around. He got up quickly and grabbed the small pail near her bed and brought it over to her, then he quickly turned off all the lights and then planted himself right beside her. He didn't say anything, he just held her and rubbed her back, he wasn't sure what other way he could help. Dizziness surrounded Olivia and she could feel dinner coming back up. She opened her eyes and looked around for the pail and luckily it was right in front of her. She grabbed it and regurgitated all the contents of her stomach into the pan. Her gags and coughs filled the room. She felt conscious about him being right there.

"Get out of here Fitz, I don't want you to see me like this!" she begged, then the ringing in her ears began.

Fitz didn't move, he just held her. When she was finished throwing up, he moved the pan.

The pain was so bad that she let out a loud scream. Which was unusual for her, she mostly tried to keep quiet during her headaches but they had been getting worse. The sound of her scream pierced her ears like a bullet and then she immediately lost consciousness.

Fitz was so frightened that he didn't move. He didn't know if he should call an ambulance for her, based on what she had told him before, that seemed to be normal but it didn't look normal.

"Livie?" He said softly.

She didn't move. He got up quickly and went to call Tom. Tom ran into the room in seconds.

"Sir? Is everything alright?"

Tom heard Olivia's scream, he thought that maybe they were fooling around. So he didn't disturb them.

"Tom, call the ambulance, she lost consciousness."

Then Fitz saw Olivia's phone and had an idea.

"Tom wait."

He took her phone and tried to open it but it was password protected. He tried her work phone and it wasn't. He went through the call log and found Abby's number. He figured since they had lived together for so long, she must know what to do. She picked up on the first ring.

"Liv, I kicked him out."

"This is not Olivia."

"Who is this?"

"It's Keith."

Olivia had told him all about his nickname she used with Abby. Abby thought the voice sounded vaguely familiar, like the voice of a celebrity that you never heard personally, but you could recognize it anywhere.

"Hi Keith, why are you using Olivia's work phone."

"Olivia had an episode and passed out, she said it was normal but it doesn't look normal, should I call an ambulance."

"Where is she right now?"

"She's passed out on the floor, I didn't move her."

"Don't worry, it's normal, just move her to the bed and make sure she's comfortable, she probably won't wake up till morning but she'll be fine."

The fact that they thought it was normal made Fitz uneasy, there was nothing normal about what he just saw.

"Alright, I will."

He hung up and picked her up and brought her to her bed. He covered her with the blanket and then left her to rest.

Tom stood silently watching.

"It's okay Tom. False alarm."

"Is she going to be okay?" Tom asked.

"I think so."

Tom nodded and close the door behind him as he walked out.

He kissed her forehead.

"I love you."

It felt good to say, he just wished he would have the courage to say it when she was awake.

He cleaned up the room and then sat beside her on the bed. He couldn't hope to sleep after what he just saw, he was still pretty shocked. He sat up watching her sleep for hours until sunlight began to peak through the windows and even then, she didn't wake for hours after. It was almost 9am when she finally shifted a few times then woke up.

She stretched lazily and then turned to see him.

"Woah, what time it is?"

"It's almost 9."

"Oh my god, what are you still doing here?"

"What do you mean, you had a headache last night, I was freaking out."

"I'm sorry you had to see that, I didn't mean to freak you out."

"Don't be, seriously, it's okay, I'm just worried about you."

"I'm okay, it's normal."

"There was nothing normal about what happened to you last night. You looked like you were having a brain aneurysm."

"This is why I didn't want you to see, I didn't want to scare you."

He pulled her into his arms and held unto her tightly.

"What the hell was up with you trying to kick me out anyways."

She smiled.

"I'm not going anywhere Livie. Got it? "

"Got it."


	10. Chapter 10

Monday afternoon.

Mellie walked over to Tom and Hal. They were standing guard outside of the Oval Office.

"Hey Tom, Hey Hal, I'd like to ask you two some questions."

"Ma'am"

"Has my husband been seeing Olivia Pope?"

Neither answered.

"I'm going to ask you again, this time blink twice if yes. Let's try this again."

"Has my husband been seeing Olivia Pope?"

Neither blinked.

"Is my husband seeing any other woman?"

Neither blinked.

"Just answer me this, where is he going at nights."

"Ma'am we are not at liberty to disclose the president's whereabouts," Tom replied evenly.

"Do you really want to piss me off, I'm the First Lady, do you know what I can do to you."

"I must remind you that threatening a United States secret service agent is a class e felony and punishable by up to 5 years in prison. Respectfully madam First Lady, we answer to the president, not you."

"Fitz has no need to know anything about our conversation, is that clear?"

"Yes ma'am."

Mellie turned her heel and walked away.

Both Tom and Hal had grown to like Olivia, they saw no reason to reveal any information that would put her in any trouble and above all they were loyal to Fitz. They weren't going to betray his trust.

Fitz sat in the Oval Office, he didn't get to see Olivia on Sunday because she got held up at the hospital during the night and didn't get home until the wee hours of the morning. He'd been calling her practically every half hour to see how she was doing, he hadn't been able to stop worrying about her since Saturday. He'd been reading the same line in the briefing packet for about 10 minutes without having actually understood what he was reading because he was so distracted.

The sound of a knock on the door broke him out of his train of thought.

"Come in," he called.

It was Tom.

"Hey Tom? What's going on?"

"Sir, First Lady Grant confronted us with questions about your relationship with Dr. Pope."

Fitz raised his eyebrow.

"What kind of questions?"

"She wanted to know if you were going to see Dr. Pope's at nights. She wanted to know if you were seeing Dr. Pope or any other woman?"

"What did you tell her?"

"That I am not at liberty to disclose the president's whereabouts."

"Thanks for telling me Tom, I'll deal with it."

"No problem sir."

Fitz took a minute to think. His initial thought was to confront Mellie but he didn't want to just react. He didn't want to do anything that would put Olivia in jeopardy. He decided not to let her know that he knew she was questioning his guards, for now. He figured she must not have liked the fact that Olivia came to examine Gerry. He knew he was definitely going to have to find a way to deal with Mellie if she was in fact on to him and Olivia.

He kept checking the clock waiting for an appropriate time to call Olivia back, and once it was half hour since his last call he dialed her number and waited for her to pick up.

"Wow I wonder who this might be?"

"Ha ha, so funny, how are you feeling?"

He could hear her chuckling over the phone.

"Sweetheart I am fine. Stop worrying, you're making feel bad."

"Why do you feel bad?"

"Because if your worrying about me, you're not focusing on your work. I'm depriving the country of your attention."

Fitz smiled.

"I'm sorry, I just can't stop thinking about you."

"As flattering as that is, you really shouldn't worry about me, I've had this my entire life and I'm gonna keep having them until I can't figure out a way to stop it, so worrying won't do you any good."

"I know, it's just that hearing about it and actually seeing it are two totally different things. There was nothing you could tell me that would've communicated to me how bad it was until I actually saw it."

"You poor thing," she teased.

"Liv, it's not funny."

"I know but sometimes laughing is the only way to get through the tough things in life."

She wanted to change the subject and quick.

"Are you coming over tonight?"

"I plan to, why?"

"Oh, I'm writing my speech for the World neurological conference that's being held in India, I'm being honored and I have to give a speech, I'm writing it right now, it'll be finished soon and I want you to read it and give me your opinion."

"I'd love to."

"Great thanks."

"When is the conference?"

"In 26 days."

"So that means you leave in 26 days because after that it's Doctors Without Borders right?"

"Yes, I actually leave in 24 when you factor in travel time. India is not right around the corner you know and I have to go back to New York before I leave."

"I'm gonna lose my mind with you gone."

"Hey, on the bright side, by the time I get back, you should be a divorced man."

"Yea but that doesn't mean I want to spend three months away from you."

"Think about the children," she teased.

Gerry walking into the office clad in this football practice uniform.

"Liv, I gotta run, I'll talk to you later."

"Byeee."

Fitz hung up.

"What's up Ger?"

"I asked Kenna and she said yes. We're going out to watch a movie Friday night."

"That's great buddy. I told you she'd say yes."

"Yeah, I can't wait."

"So how was practice?"

"It was great, I got my jersey for tomorrow."

He pulled his jersey out of his bag.

"Check it out dad, Grant Jr number 24."

Fitz got up and walked over to Gerry.

"Nice, do I get one of these. I'd wear it to your game tomorrow."

"Hmm that would be kinda cool. They gave us two jerseys, I have the other one in my locker so I guess you could take this one."

"Great, what size is it?"

"It's a large, it'll fit you dad, you are only 3 inches taller than me."

"You get a growth spurt and it's the end of the world."

"Not true dad."

Fitz took the jersey and walked back over to his desk.

"So dad, I got all the questions right. I get a homework pass for the rest of the marking period just in that class though."

"I bet your glad about that."

"Are you kidding me? That homework was kicking my ass. What am I talking about, all the homework is kicking my ass."

"I don't know why you won't let me get you a tutor."

"Because people will find out and think I'm dumb."

"No they won't."

"Yes they will and I don't need a tutor, I can just ask Olivia for help."

"Olivia has a very demanding job, sometimes she's in surgery for up to 13 hours, she won't always be available."

"I know but I won't always need her help with homework, I'll just need help with the math and science stuff. Like my biology homework. Do you think I can call and ask for help?"

"I was just speaking to her and she was in the middle of writing a speech so maybe give her an hour or so then call."

"Okay, I'm gonna leave my bag in here and go shower and get something to eat, I'm starving by then she should be free."

"Yea bring me back something from the kitchen."

"You got it."

He texted Olivia to let her know Gerry would be calling her soon for help with homework and she was more than happy to help. He didn't want to annoy her by asking her to help with Gerry's homework but she seemed genuinely willing to help so he pushed those thoughts to the back of his head. Once Gerry got back he took his usual seat in front of Fitz desk and began working on his homework. He pulled out his worksheets and dialed the number that was on the card Olivia gave him and waited for her to answer.

"Hello?"

"Hi Olivia, I was just calling because I was hoping you could help me with something."

"Sure, what do you need help with?"

Gerry put the phone on speaker and placed it on the desk in front of him.

"We're learning about evolution and the early ancestors of man. My teacher was explaining it earlier but I didn't really understand, can you explain it to me?"

"Yea, so you generally have the timeline of man, which begins with the Homo sapiens, then homo sapien Neanderthalensis, homo erectus, homo habilis and Australopithecus robustus…"

Gerry listened carefully, taking notes as she spoke. In no time, they were done with his homework and then he got a crazy idea.

"Hey Liv, I have my first football game of of the season tomorrow and I'd really like it if you could come."

"I-"

She sounded skeptical.

Fitz didn't expect Gerry to invite her, he would love for her to come but with Mellie asking questions it would raise to much suspicions.

"You don't have to answer now just think about it. Bye," Gerry hung up quickly before she could reply.

"Gerry what the hell was that?"

Fitz wasn't angry, he was shocked.

"I just figured it would be cool to have her at the game. Don't worry if anyone asks I'll tell them I invited her, uncle Cyrus can come too."

"I don't want to put Olivia in situation where she feels uncomfortable."

"Dad, it's just a football game. I've been inviting everyone, it's not that weird."

"Do you remember what happened when your mom saw her on Saturday, do you want that to happen again."

"Mom, has some education conference thing she's leaving for tonight remember, she won't even be here tomorrow."

"She's gonna have fit if Olivia's at that game and she isn't."

"We'll just tell that she monitoring me, since I had a concussion last week, come dad on, have some guts."

Fitz smiled mischievously.

"So how are we gonna get Olivia to agree to come?" Fitz asked.

In his mind he knew it wasn't feasible but he decided to indulge Gerry.

"You're always telling about that Grant charm right? It worked for me, maybe it'll work for you."

Fitz laughed.

"We'll see."

Later in the night he went to visit as soon as Mellie left for her trip. When she opened the door the let him in he was pleasantly surprised by her new look. Her hair was loosely curled and she changed her hair color from black to a black to brown ombré color. Fitz loved it.

"So no more black huh?"

He stepped in the apartment.

"Well, I usually like the color of my hair black to match the color of my soul."

Fitz laughed.

"But I decided to change it up a bit. Do you like it?"

He lifted her in the air.

"I love it, it looks great on you."

She kissed his nose.

"Thanks."

He let her down and followed her over to the couch.

"So what was up with Gerry asking me to go the his football game? He knows I can't go right?"

"I was surprised too but if I'm being honest, I would like for you to come, I know you can't but it would be nice."

"It's too reckless, I can't agree to that. If people find out that you've been to my apartment as many times as you have, they won't care whether or not we're having sex, they'll see me as your mistress."

"You are not my mistress."

Fitz decided to get technical on her.

"The Oxford dictionary describes a mistress as a woman with whom a married man has continued sexual relations with that is not his wife. We aren't having sex so there."

"I know what the word means but people won't see it any other way."

"Who cares what people think."

"I do, if people think we're together while your married it could ruin my career. No one would care about what work I've done as a doctor, they'd just care that I had sex with you."

"But you haven't. I understand why you're worried about people finding out, which is why I'm gonna be honest with you. Mellie's been asking my guards about my whereabouts. She asked them about you."

"I'm not surprised."

"Why not?"

"Please, her little performance in the oval on Saturday made it pretty clear she felt threatened by me, I'm not surprised that she would inquire about us."

"Don't worry, I'm gonna take care of it."

Olivia was silent.

"Liv?"

"Fitz you know this means you can't come here anymore? Right?"

"Why not. I'm being careful."

"If anyone finds out that you're coming to see me at night, it'll be over for both of us. I'll be the slut and you'll be the cheater and that's all we'll be remembered for."

"So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that we can't see each other anymore."

Fitz got up and walked straight to the door without another word. Olivia got up and ran behind him.

"What are you doing?

"I'm leaving."

"Why?"

"You wanna end this right? So I'm ending it."

"I don't wanna end it. I just said we can't see each other anymore, it's too risky for you to come here but we can still call each other and talk."

Fitz turned around to face her.

"You leave in less than a month for a trip that's gonna last for at least another three months. You expect me to not see you for 4 months. I'm not okay with that."

"Neither am I, the best part of my day is when I get to see you and I'm gonna go crazy not seeing you but we have to be careful."

"So what? We're just gonna play phone tag for the next four months."

Olivia rolled her eyes.

"Oh my god do you have any idea how much of a brat you are? I don't know how anyone puts up with you, I really don't."

"Fine, I'll talk to you tomorrow."

He turned around to open the door. She stepped in front of him.

"Where are you going?" She asked clearly annoyed.

"I'm leaving, isn't that what you want."

"You are sooo dramatic. You promised me you would read my speech and you're already here, it makes no sense to leave."

"Yeah well I'm leaving anyways."

Fitz stared her down and Olivia didn't back down. The stood still as the moments passed and then suddenly Olivia burst out in a wild giggle. Her laugh made him laugh and they both stood laughing at each other. She grabbed his hand and walked him back to the couch.

"Come on read my speech and tell me what you think. You've given some pretty good speeches over the years, you should know."

She handed him the speech.

"You are one of the smartest people on the planet, why do you need my help with a speech."

"Because I'm not a cocky little bitch, that's why, your a great speechwriter, I value your input."

Fitz smiled.

"Okay, let's see what you have here."

Fitz read through the speech.

"This is really good."

"You think so."

"Yes, it's greater than I expected and I had high expectations so that's saying something. It's very thorough and inspiring."

She blushed.

"Thank you."

"How long did it take you to right this?"

"15 minutes and 37 seconds."

"Show off."

"I'm sorry, I'm very exact sometimes I can't help it."

She sat beside him on the couch and scooted under his arms.

"So how exactly is this going to work?" he asked.

"I'd call you everyday and every night and you can call me every half hour like you do now," she teased lightly.

"I'm not gonna not see you for four months."

Olivia pondered.

"Okay, once a week until I leave but you can't stay all night."

"What?"

"Fitz it's too risky."

"It's risky right now, I'm here aren't I?"

"Yes but this is the last time, please just be patient, I'm not going anywhere okay. I'll wait till you get divorced, that was plan and it's not like we're having sex anyways so why does it matter if you see me or not?"

"You think that's why I come here at night, hoping I can fuck you?" He asked a little too callously.

"Well you don't have to say it like that."

"I'm sorry but I just hate that you think that's what I want from you."

"So you don't want sex?"

"Of course I wanna have sex with you, look at you but I also want you know how much I care about you and that I'm not just interested in getting in your pants."

She smiled and caressed his cheek.

"I know, I just like bothering you about it sometimes."

He smiled.

"I have shown Olympic gold medal worthy restraint in the last month, sure I have the worst case of blue balls known to man but…"

She chuckled.

"Sorry, I can't help that I'm hot."

"Shut up. I would've like you even if you weren't."

She reached over and turned on the tv.

"What are we watching?" He asked.

"Spartacus season one blood and sand."

Fitz sighed.

"This can't be good."

Gerry sat in his office at Grant Corp, waiting on his guest to arrive. He was interested to see what his private investigator found out. When Mellie revealed her suspicions of Fitz and the doctor, he agreed that it was odd that he was suddenly pushing so hard for a divorce so he decided to look into it. His secretary knocked on his glass door.

"Come in Carla."

"Sir, you have a Mr. Black here to see you."

"Send him in," he instructed without looking up.

A few moments later, Carter Black entered the room.

"Have a seat," Gerry offered.

Black sat at the desk and placed a folder on the table.

"What did you find?"

"Well we did a search on Olivia Pope, she owns an apartment in New York but since the incident with the president, she has been staying at a temp apartment in D.C. I had my men surveil her apartment and in fact, in the four days that we have been conducting surveillance on her apartment, the president visited twice in the night and left before morning."

"How the hell does he manage to sneak out of the White House unseen."

"Not sure sir but from what we've seen, he travels in two unmarked sedans with his guards. He enters through the service entrance at the side of the apartment, that is all we know."

"Thank you, keep an eye on her, I want to know everything."

"Yes sir. I have all the photos we have compiled in the folder."

"No more photos. I don't want this to get out if these pictures are mishandled, watch her and keep me posted."

Black nodded and took his leave.

"He's fucking the doctor. Who would have thought," he said to himself.

He was impressed that Fitz would be bold enough to cheat on his wife but also annoyed that it was causing him to want a divorce.


	11. Chapter 11

Olivia stood in the operation room weighting for the anesthetic to kick in. She had all her tools ready to begin the procedure in a few minutes. Once Marisa was unconscious, they flipped her and Olivia shaved two very small spots at the back of her head then drilled two small holes where she had shaved. She injected the accelerated stem cell extract and then stitched the small holes up. She did a few hours of the laser therapy then brought her in for a CT scan. The results were positive and there was significantly less damage in the occipital lobe. They brought her back to the recovery room to rest for the remainder of the day. Olivia went back to her hotel after the surgery and showered and ordered room service before she dialed Fitz and waited for him to pick up. She turned on the tv, they were still showing footage of Fitz at Gerry's football game. She thought it was so cute of Fitz to wear Gerry's jersey. Fitz wasted no time, he picked up on the first ring.

"How was surgery?"

"Successful, so far, the stem cells immediately began repairing the ruptured lobe. I think I'm still getting used to the fact that the procedure works, I mean these are things that are impossible but they are being done, it's a little surreal."

"I find it shocking that other doctors haven't adopted it and started performing it on their own, especially since it's so successful."

"They've tried but unfortunately accelerator labs are rare in the U.S., there are only three accelerator labs in the U.S. and two of those three are university labs that mostly run experiments and test hypothesis. There are thousands in Europe though. The national accelerator lab has a backlog that runs for months and it also just doesn't have the capabilities to accelerate stem cells. The Benancourt lab in France is the only lab in the world with the technology that can accelerate stem cells."

"Why is that?"

"Because Daniel and I built the machine so that it was especially capable to accelerate human cells without completely eviscerating it's genetic information and damaging the cells which is what a typical particle accelerator would do, you see, accelerators are made to accelerate mostly subatomic particles like protons and electrons. It's funny because when I actually came up with the idea - no - not really idea, the theory that we could accelerate human cells to stimulate self healing in a way that had been thought impossible every single scientist laughed. They thought I was absolutely unhinged. It was amazing. We worked on the machine for months, at first we used a typical particle accelerator machine and thought we could retrofit an added compartment for stem cells but that was a bust so we had to start from scratch."

She paused, she was a little worried that she was boring him.

"So wait, what does the accelerator actually do to the stem cell that makes it heal someone so quickly?"

She smiled, he was paying attention.

"Well you know how stem cell uses differentiation to give rise to other cells right?"

"Yes, that about as much as I know about stem cells," he said with a chuckle.

She laughed.

"Okay, well when you accelerate the stem cells, to put it simpler terms, it's like dropping a 'supercharger' into each cell and keep in mind that there are billions of cells and then a sort of frenzy begins where the usual process of differentiation is done at an exponential rate so much so that once the stem cells are reinjected into the body, it is able to regrow tissue, muscle, bone, nerves, etc, really whatever it needs to be at the moment."

"Wow, I can't believe you thought of that. Can you imagine what would happen if more people performed your procedure?"

"Then it would be a wonderful world but unfortunately the kind of machine Daniel and I built cost billions, billions that most countries would rather use to buy an arsenal of f-15 raptors and m-16's than build a lab with, and when I say most countries the U.S. is included."

Fitz chuckled.

"You are so very subtle, you know that?"

She laughed.

"I try to be."

She paused.

"You know Fitz, I tell you a whole lot about myself but you haven't told me anything about you that I couldn't look up on wikipedia."

"Like what?"

"Like what are you afraid of? Seriously afraid of?"

Fitz pondered.

"I guess I'm afraid of not being able to protect the people I love."

Olivia smiled, she could tell he was being honest.

"What were you like at 15 years old?"

Fitz laughed.

"Let's see, at 15, I was playing football, I was a pain in the ass to Gerry more than I am right now, all we did was fight. I was on a mission to get a blow job by anyone who was willing, I was a mess."

She laughed so hard, it made Fitz chuckle. Once she calmed down, she began questioning him again.

"Name one thing that you've wanted for years but didn't get?"

"You want the truth?"

"Absolutely!"

"I've always wanted another child."

"Really?" she asked with a smile.

"Yea but you know…"

"I want kids too, I want a boy first then a girl, I think it would be cool if my daughter had a big brother who could beat people up for her."

Fitz laughed.

"Gerry is very capable of beating up anyone for his little sister."

She smiled at how he always seemed to include her in all his future plans.

"What are your plans after the presidency?"

"I think, I'll spend about a month being a bum just sitting on the couch, no laying on the couch, watching movies and drinking scotch, then I want to start practicing law again but not corporate law, human rights law, I could travel the world and make sure people human rights aren't being trampled on. You've sort of inspired me in that way."

"We could be a team, you could try the war criminals and thugs for their crimes and I could heal all the people that they hurt."

"I think we have a deal."

"Yes we do."

"Okay so let me ask you something."

Fitz began.

"How many languages do you know, I've always been curious?"

"Do you really want to know because at some point it becomes showing off."

"Humor me."

"Well let's start with dead languages,"

"Wow this really is showing of," Fitz chuckled.

"Shut up you asked. I know 10 dead languages: Akkadian; the language of ancient mesopotamia, which I learned so I could read the epic of gilgamesh and cuneiform, I learned biblical hebrew so I could read the bible in it's original syntax, coptic; It's basically the Egyptian language written using the Greek alphabet, which is pretty cool - uhm Aramaic, Sanskrit, ancient Egyptian, Latin, old Norse and ancient Greek, which I really only learned so I could study the works of the greats like Socrates, Homer, Aristotle and Plato."

"What about modern languages?"

"Not including english, I know 30 modern languages."

Fitz mouth dropped open.

"Name them."

"Arabic, Polish, Thai, Urdu, Norwegian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, Punjabi, German, Javanese, Japanese, Kurdish, Somali, Sudanese, Swahili, Zulu, Icelandic, Italian, Czech, Turkish, Yue, Bengali, Hindi, Hausa, Malay, Vietnamese, Tamil and Romansh."

"Why did you need to learn that many languages, how long did that take?"

"Most of the languages I learned a week or two leading up to visiting the country in which it was spoken. I need to be able to understand what a patient is telling me in order to help them."

Olivia's sleep alarm went off.

"I have to go Fitz that was my sleep alarm, I need to wake up early to get back to the hospital."

"Okay, tell me how it goes. Goodnight."

"Goodnight babe."

The next morning, Olivia arrived at the hospital at 7am. Immediately she began running test on Marisa to gauge how much repair had been done to the brain. It was several hours before Marisa woke up. Olivia had bandaged her eyes to avoid Marisa straining her eyes by trying to see without Olivia's instructions but once she was up, it was time for the ultimate test. She removed the bandages from her eyes. She didn't expect 20/20 vision, not yet but at least some return of her sight was expected.

"Keep your eyes closed," Olivia instructed.

Marisa nodded nervously.

Olivia examined around her eyes and when everything was normal she decided it was time.

"Marisa can you go ahead and open you eyes slowly for me,"

She could see Marisa's parents standing by nervously. Marisa stared blankly at first but then her eyes began to scan the room.

"What do you see?"

Suddenly tears began to trickle down Marisa's cheeks.

"Everything is blurry, I can't see your faces but I can see your shapes. I can't believe it."

Her parents ran over and hugged her and they all cried happy tears together. Olivia stood by and watched proudly.

"Your vision will get clearer and clearer as the days go by. I won't be here but Dr. Wen will give you an eye exam in two weeks to gauge the quality of your vision, don't worry though I'm 95 percent sure that your vision will be restored to what it was before just be sure not to strain your eyes; no reading, writing, watching t.v. or web surfing."

Marisa looked up and smiled.

"Dr. Pope can I give you a hug?" Marisa asked.

Olivia smiled.

"Of course."

Olivia walked over and gave her a tight hug, moments after she felt the entire family join in.

After a few minutes, Marisa's parents asked Olivia to speak privately, so they all stepped outside in the hallway.

"Dr. Pope, we just really wanted to impress on you how grateful we are for what you've done for our daughter. She's been dreaming of going to the olympics since she was 5 years old and a few weeks ago it was impossible but now…"

"You are very welcome."

"We just wanted to let you know that the loan that we took out to pay the bill delayed on the bank's part but once it goes through, we will pay it right away. We hope the delay doesn't pose an issue for you."

Olivia pondered for a second.

"It doesn't but I'll waive my charge."

"What?" Maria's mother and father asked in unison.

"Yeah, don't worry about it, it's pro bono."

"Are you kidding me?" Marisa's mom asked, "come here."

She pulled Olivia in for another hug and immediately Olivia thought "wow, they really like to hug.'

"Thank you, thank you, thank you. I can't tell you what this means to us. Come on let's share the good news with Marisa."

They entered the hospital room, this time Marisa's parent entered with the widest smiles on their faces. Marisa sat on the bed talking on the phone but once her parents entered, she ended the call and gave them her attention.

"Guess what sweetie?"

"What?" she asked.

"Dr. Pope is going to waive the charge for the procedure. It's free."

"Oh my god mom, seriously?"

"Yes."

"Really Olivia?"

"Yeah, you just focus on recovering and then kicking butt at the olympics."

"I promise, I will," Marisa said with a smile.

"Dr. Pope, when do you leave?" Marisa's mother asked.

"In the morning."

"I was hoping you would join us for a home cooked meal. I wanted to go home and whip something up, it's the least we can do to thank you."

"I'd like that very much, I'm nothing if not greedy."

They all chuckled.

"Perfect, you'll fit right in around here," her father joked.

"So, what do you say we meet you back here at 7pm."

"Perfect. I'll see you then."

Olivia headed back to her hotel shortly after and called Fitz as soon as she walked into her room.

"So, how did it go?"

"It work," she announced excitedly.

"Yes. I knew it would."

She could hear his excitement over the phone, it made her smile.

"Yes, her parents want to thank me by inviting me to dinner."

"They're gonna take you out to dinner?"

"No, they don't live too far from the hospital, the mom went home to cook, she's gonna bring it back to the hospital so everyone can eat and of course I agreed because I'm-"

"Greedy, yes I know," he finished.

"They seem very thankful, that's nice of them."

"Yes well that's because I waived my fee."

"Wow, that was very generous."

"Yes, they were gonna have to take out a loan to pay the bill and they seem like really nice people so I waived it. It's not exactly like I'll be struggling if they don't pay me."

"How much would it have been?"

"Well, a regular autologous bone marrow transplant cost around $350,000, but of course it wasn't a regular transplant it was a brain transplant, then add the cost of shipping stem cells to France and energizing the cells at the lab is another $200,000 plus laser therapy and that doesn't include the cost of my services."

"So who's paying that 200,000 to the lab?"

"I'll have Daniel waive it, no problem."

"Of course," he said in an annoyed tone.

She laughed.

"So what's up with you?"

"I'm in the oval, I have about 5 different packets I have to read. I'm waiting for Cyrus to call me for this meeting"

"So basically you're having a party?"

"Basically…"

"How is Cyrus?"

"He's working like a dog, as always."

"I hate his guts."

Fitz erupted in a fit of laughter so loud that Olivia almost dropped her phone.

"Oh my god Fitz, you're so loud."

"I'm sorry, that just caught me off guard."

She chuckled.

"What?" she asked innocently.

"It's the way you said it that was funny."

She shook her head.

"Whatever."

"When are you coming back to D.C.?"

"Tomorrow, I have an early flight."

"Then?"

"Then I'm gonna put in some hours at James Madison."

Cyrus walked in.

"Cyrus is here, I have to head to my meeting now."

"Bye tight buns."

"Shut up," he said with a chuckle before hanging up.

"Who was that?" Cyrus asked.

"None of your business."

"You are my business."

"I feel a speech coming on Cy and I'm not in the mood so save it."

"Alright but don't forget I always have your best interest at heart."

"You have my best interest at heart only when it's in your best interest, don't pretend you won't drop me the second I'm dead weight."

Fitz didn't wait for Cyrus' reply he just made his way out and down the hall.

Olivia made it back to the hospital a few minutes before 7pm. Marisa and her family were waiting for her in the hospital room. She could hear the excitement as she entered the room.

"Wow, it smells great in here," she complimented as she walked in.

"Thanks to my peach cobbler, old family recipe."

Marisa's younger brother walked over and handed her a gift.

"For me?" Olivia asked.

"Yes."

"Thank you."

Olivia opened the gift, it was a box of chocolates and cookies among other goodies. She thanked them and they began their meal together.

"So honey, are you excited? You'll be able to start your gymnastics again soon," Marisa's dad said.

"I am but I'm scared. What if I fall again?"

"The biggest hurdle most athletes face when coming back from an injury is overcoming the fear. Your body knows what to do, it's just your mind that you have to convince that you are safe," Olivia said.

"How can I do that?"

"You can run through your routines in your mind, go through all the motions in your mind and you'll feel the same sense of accomplishment as if you were doing it physically. Why don't you give it a try?"

"Okay."

Marisa smiled and closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Where are you?" Olivia asked.

"I'm standing in front of the beam," she said with her eyes closed.

"Good," Olivia replied, "begin your routine."

"I start with a round off lay-out lay-out. I do a little dance move and then I do a triple turn into tuck stand. I stand on the beam and then I do a tucked arabian into a back handspring. The crowd cheers and I smile. I do a little salsa move and shimmy my way to the other end of the beam then I do two back handsprings and a layout full into a korbut. I stand and do a front aerial and a back pike. The crowd cheers again. I do a double turn split and a switch ring leap into a layout, step out and a sheep jump then I do the patterson dismount and I stick it and everyone cheers."

Marisa opened her eyes.

"It worked, I did it and it felt really good."

Olivia smiled.

'So keep doing that, for each of your routines and when it's time for you to train again, you'll be ready."


	12. Chapter 12

Olivia sat in the doctor's lounge at James Madison hospital eating a caesar salad. She was going on hour 10 of her shift that was suppose to be over two hours ago but one of the doctors called out so she decided to stick around and help cover. She was about to shove a fork full of lettuce into her mouth when Stephen jogged into the room.

"Liv, I know your on lunch but I'm really gonna need your help."

She jumped up quickly.

"What? What's going on?"

"We have two kids on their way, gunshot wounds."

All she needed to hear was 'kids', she had an infinite love for kids and was willing to do anything to help any child she could. She ran out behind him and waited in the bay for the paramedics to arrive with the kids.

"So what are we up against?" she asked.

"The father had a gun that was left out in the open and the five year old brother shot the 6 month old twice and 2 year old once."

"Oh my god? Where are the wounds?"

"I don't know as yet but it's bad."

Two minutes later the paramedics ran down the hall pushing two stretchers with a bloody infant and toddler.

"The infant has two gunshot wounds to the head, she lost a lot of blood and her pupils aren't reacting to light," one of the paramedics announced as he pushed the stretcher in front of her.

The second the toddler was in front of her, she gasped for air twice and then she flatlined.

"Paddles, get me the paddles now, there is no pulse and I need a blood transfusion stat," Olivia screamed.

She tried to stop the blood rushing out of the tiny bloodied body and get oxygen into her lungs as they charged the paddles. Once she got the paddles, she got to work trying to revive her patient. She gave her an electric shock.

"Clear!"

She waited for it to charge again and shocked her again.

"Clear!"

Still there was no response from the infant. So she waited for it to charge once more.

"Clear!"

She did three sets of electric shock to the heart and when it didn't work she frantically began chest compressions.

"Come on, come on, come on, come back to me."

Olivia did compression for 5 minutes, trying to bring back her heart when Stephen pulled her away. He had lost his patient too. She stood frozen and wide eyed, like a child witnessing something horrible happen for the first time. Stephen called out a time of death for Olivia's patient and then the nurses began the procedure for the death of a patient.

Stephen could see the mountain of tears welling up in her eyes and her lips quivered as if she was moments away from breaking down into a fit of uncontrollable wailing. She had never lost a patient before much less a child, a part of her thought she was impervious to it, she had seen people die before and she always tried to imagine what it would be like to lose a patient but the feeling that ran through her body was so much worse than anything she could have thought possible.

"Liv, there was nothing you could have done, they were dead before they got here. This is not on us."

He moved closer to try to console her but she stepped away and without a word she turned around and walked to the doctor's lounge. She removed her gloves and washed her hands then absently grabbed her bag and walked straight to the parking garage and got in her car and drove home. Fitz called her a few times but she turned her cell phone off, she couldn't talk to him.

She held back any urge she had to cry until she reached into the familiar comfort of her apartment where she was sure she couldn't be judge for her emotions as her father would have it and dropped to her knees. For a moment she felt like the tears couldn't come, all that came out were dry sobs and heaves as she tried to control the mass of emotions she was feeling. She was motionless on the ground, not crying but grieving over the poor babies, that suffered such a tragic end to their lives, grieving because she had been powerless to help them.

Fitz had called olivia about 20 times and she never picked up once. When he spoke to her during the day, she said she was suppose to have left the hospital hours ago so he was confused and a little worried as to why she wasn't taking his calls. Their agreement was that they would have to be available to each to other through the phone at all times, that was his one condition to agree to stop coming over but since she wasn't keeping her end of the deal, Fitz decided he wouldn't keep his end either. He put on his jacket and cleared his desk.

"Tom?" he called as he put away all the stationery.

"Yes sir?" Tom said a he walked through the door with his flawless posture.

"We're going to Olivia's."

Tom nodded and spoke in his headset to the other agents so they could make the necessary preparations.

Fitz thought he might be slightly overreacting but then thoughts of the night he witnessed her first migraine kept flashing through his head and immediately he thought the worse, what if she got a headache while driving and crashed? He couldn't help but wonder. The thought turned his stomach as he tried to push it out of his head. The anxiety was killing him, he couldn't get there fast enough. He walked briskly up the stairs and to her door. He knocked impatiently and waited.

He knew she was there, Hal told him her car was in the parking garage.

He knocked again.

Olivia was on the same spot of the floor for the past hour, she was so lost in her own head, she barely heard the knocking until it was less of a knock and more of an angry bang. The tears had been flowing freely for some time and she didn't want him to see her like that. She tried to compose herself and wipe her eyes then she slowly stood to her feet and walked out the door. It was only a few feet away but she still managed to stumble on her way over there. It was dark in the apartment when she opened the door, Fitz couldn't see her as she was standing behind the door when he walked in.

"Olivia we had a deal, as long as you answer your phone, I won't come over here - and why the well is it so dark in here anyways?"

He reached for the switch and flipped it on. She was still standing behind the door that was now shut, her face was turned away from him. She seemed to Fitz, as if she was holding on to the door for support.

"Liv, did you just have a headache, are you okay?"

When he got closer to her he could see that she was crying.

He pulled her away from the door and nestled her in his chest and that's when the floodgates opened. She sobbed into his chest, more than she thought herself capable of. She'd never considered herself a cryer, not that she was emotionless, she was filled with emotions. She tried to spread love and happiness whenever she could but apart from that she just had such a logical approach to most of the things in her life that there was never really any space for crying. Crying never really solved her problems and she learned it early but in that moment none of that made sense, she just wanted to cry and when she was done she hoped she would feel better. Fitz wasn't helping either, she blamed him for her sudden flood of tears, if he hadn't made her feel so loved and safe and cared for in that moment, maybe she might have been able to reign in her tears but instead, freely they flowed reminding her just how human she was.

He stood with her, kissing her forehead ever so softly and consoling her until the loud sobs disappeared and were replaced by silent sniffles. When she was confident in her ability to look at his face and not burst into tears once more she looked up.

"Would now be a bad time to give you shit for not answering my phone calls?" He asked with a smirk.

She couldn't help but laugh. She wiped her eyes once more.

"Sorry," she said with a smile.

He walked her over to the couch.

"What's wrong Livie?"

She sighed.

"I lost my first patient today."

"I'm so sorry. What happened?"

"A five year old found his dad's gun and shot his little brother and sister. I was working on his little sister, she was 6 months old. She got shot twice in the head and-"

She tried to fight back the fresh tears that were threatening to fall. She took a deep breath and continued.

"I've never lost a patient before. I saw her take her last breath and then there was nothing and now I just, I can't get that image of her bloody and gasping for air out of my head. The guilt is killing me, I was suppose to save her but I failed."

"Did you make a mistake?"

She looked up at him.

"No."

"Then there is nothing to feel guilty about. You did everything you could. You are the best doctor in the world, there is no one more qualified to be a doctor than you and if you couldn't save her then no one could have. You're not god Liv, you are someone with extraordinary abilities and you've helped hundreds if not thousands of people live healthy and happy lives, you just gave someone their sight back for Christ sake. You can't save everyone, life doesn't work that way."

"I know, your right it's just heartbreaking that she had to die that way. She was in pain."

"I know, it was a tragedy and I understand why you are sad but please don't blame yourself."

He held her face and kissed her forehead.

"I was so worried about you, after you didn't answer call number three I immediately started thinking the worse."

She looked up and smiled.

"The worse?"

"Yea, I thought maybe you were driving and got a migraine and you crashed or something."

She smiled wider.

"If I got a migraine while driving, I would've just pulled over."

"Whatever, you know what I mean."

"Thank you."

"For what?" He asked.

"For worrying about me."

He smiled.

"Anytime."

Fitz sat up.

"What can I do to cheer you up?"

"I'm fine, truly apart from being a little embarrassed about my Oscar worthy water works…"

He kissed her forehead.

"There's nothing wrong with crying."

"Mhm, when was the last time you cried?"

Fitz tried to remember.

"Gerry accidentally kicked me in the balls a few years ago, he was wearing cleats and I can still feel it."

She laughed.

"You're such a liar."

"You want the truth?"

"Yes."

"When I found out my mom died, I cried not at the funeral, but when I was alone because obviously I'm so cool I can't cry, at least not in public."

"Of course not," she said sarcastically as she cuddled up on his side.

The next morning she woke up feeling much better. She couldn't deny how much she loved having Fitz over, he always knew what to say to make her feel better and after last night, she wasn't sure if she wanted to keep up the no appearances. As risky as it was to have him keep coming over to her apartment, it was worth it but she couldn't admit that to Fitz, she also knew she didn't have to because if you gave him an inch he'd take a mile and since she allowed him to come over without complaint last night, she was positive he'd be there again tonight.

Thankfully it was her day off because the last place she wanted to be was the hospital. She decided she was going to threat the day as if it was a day off versus taking conference calls and studying which was what she usually did whenever she had a day off. She showered and dressed in a yoga leggings and light sweater. The fall weather was on its way in and it was an unusually cool day. As she walked out of her apartment, she headed straight to the French cafe that was in the lobby of her apartment. She sat by the window and ate her croissant and drank her cafe' au lait. She usually read a book or surfed the web on her laptop as she ate but this time she just stared through the window, observing the passers by and thinking about Fitz. She spent her morning at the spa, getting facials and laser treatments. When she finished at the spa, she put her credit card to work in Barney's and then grabbed a late lunch before heading home and napping until a knock on the door woke her up. It was a little strange for Fitz not to call all day but she knew he had a busy and unpredictable job. She opened the door and watched as he pulled off his shoes and jacket.

"You know you shouldn't have come here right?" She said as she closed the door behind him. She loved when he visited, that didn't change but she wouldn't be Olivia pope if she didn't give him a little resistance.

"What's so wrong about coming here, it's not like we do anything," he sounded more like a spoiled child than the most powerful man in the world.

"This is still cheating."

Fitz knew she was right but he still wanted to challenge her.

"How?"

"Well for starters, we've kissed each other multiple times and I've shown you my boobs."

"They were great by they way but continue-"

She chuckled.

"I can't with you,"

"You love my antics, admit it."

"I love your antics, they keep me distracted - I feel infinitely better whenever you're around and that's a good thing."

"So I'm not just a cheating bastard? I serve a little more purpose than that, is what you're saying?" he teased.

She walked over to the couch and sat down, he followed.

"Just a little bit more, I mean, I'd like to do you at some point, I'm just as guilty as you are, I haven't exactly been modest about my want for you either. We're both horrible but that's okay right?"

Fitz chuckled.

"I love how honest you are."

"Well I trust you."

"You trust me?"

"Yeah, I feel like you won't judge me for the feelings and thoughts that I share with you, am I wrong?"

"No, I'd want you to be honest with me about what you are feeling even if you don't think it's what I want to hear. I'm always gonna want the best for you."

She leaned up so was directly facing him. His arm was wrapped around her waist as she laid facing him.

"Do you rehearse these speeches you give or do they come to you on the spot?"

"It comes to me on the spot, why?"

She smiled.

"You seriously need to get divorced so I can show you how a woman is suppose to treat a man like you," the playfulness in her voice had long gone.

She kissed him softly allowing her lips to linger as she bit his lip. She slowly unbuckled his Salvatore Ferragamo belt and then undid his suit pants. Fitz was getting excited, he wanted to control the kiss but she wouldn't let him, she continued to kiss and nibble softly on his lips and as if that wasn't driving him mad enough, he felt her hand slip into his boxers. She wrapped her fingers around him, he was getting harder by the second and Olivia could feel him pulsating in her hand. She stroked him slowly and deepened the kiss with him, driving her tongue slowly and erotically in and out of his mouth. She continued to stroke him slowly and deliberately until she felt a gush of his pre cum run down her fingers. Fitz was hot, he felt like he was in a sauna, the blood rush he felt was indescribable and all he wanted to do was rip her clothes off and fill every crevice inside her with his cock. His orgasm was close but not close enough, she knew and he knew it and that was when she stopped. She broke the kiss and pulled her hand out of his pants. She sat up, Fitz sat up too and she almost laughed at the expression that was on his face. He was so confused. He watched her intently and she seemed to be ignoring his stare. She licked the drops of cum that ran down her fingers. Fitz mouth hung open as he watched her. She buttoned his pants and fixed his belt.

"I'm confused," Fitz finally said out loud.

She looked up at him and for the second time, she choked back a laugh.

"That's it."

"That's it?"

"Mhhmm," she said nonchalantly.

"That's it?" he asked again.

"Yep, that's all you get."

She looked down and saw the enormous bulge in his pants.

"You just gave me a quarter of a handjob?"

She couldn't hold back the chuckles anymore.

"You should probably go," she suggested with a mischievous smile.

He stood up angrily and pulled on his jacket. He knew she was teasing him and it was driving him crazy because he wanted her so much.

She stood up and walked behind him as he stormed to the door.

"Can I get a kiss?" she closed her eyes and puckered her lips and waited but all she heard was the door slam shut.

She chuckled and shook her head and then about five seconds later the door flew open, he stormed in and kissed her on the lips and then turned to leave again.

"Is that how you repay me after that great handjob I just gave you? Storming out like that?" she teased.

"That wasn't a real handjob, that was a half of a handjob," he said as he turned around to argue.

"First it was a quarter, now it's a half make up your mind but it was pretty good wasn't it?"

"By the way, I'm never coming back here."

"Yeah sure, you know if I were you I would probably wait a few minutes till that goes down because your guards might think you're excited to see them and that would be awkward…"

"Your just loving this aren't you?"

"Listen-"

She pulled him over to the couch and pushed him back gently so he could sit.

"I enjoyed that just as much as you did-"

"I doubt that," Fitz interjected.

She threw her leg over his lap and nestled herself under his arm.

"And between me and you, I think you've got a great cock it's so big and stiff, I love it. Don't think I didn't feel that huge vein at the side, I can't wait to feel that inside of me."

She chuckled and pinched his cheeks. Fitz ignored her and leaned his head back on the couch and closed his eyes.

"Olivia you are seriously annoying me right now. This is not funny. You can't just say things like that."

"Come on, it's a little funny."

He didn't reply.

She sighed.

"I'm just having a little fun Fitz, I'm horny too but you don't see me being a grouch about it."

"As soon as my erection goes down I'm out of here and I'm never coming back."

She rolled her eyes.

"Fine, I'm gonna go hang with Tom and Hal in the hallway. I'm sure they'll appreciate me."

She got up and headed to the door.

"Get your ass back here Olivia."

She turned around and faced him.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me," he said without opening his eyes.

She walked back over with a smirk, happy that she had managed to get on his last nerve.

"Are you gonna calm down?"

"I am calm," he said flatly.

"You realize that you always start this right, you showed me your breasts, you kissed me, you pull me in a tub with you completely naked and now out of nowhere you start jerking me off and licking my cum off your fingers, how am I supposed to react to that? I'm a man Olivia, don't play games with me."

"I'm a man Olivia, don't play games with me," she mimicked.

Fitz sighed.

"Come on Fitz, I'm just messing with you, loosen up."

"How would you feel if I started fingering you out of the blue then stopped?"

"I got lasered earlier so it would probably hurt-"

"You laser?"

"Yeah, waxing hurts so I prefer to laser, it's more effective and last longer although it leaves me really sensitive for like a day or two."

"You're such a hippy I would have thought you would let your pubes grow free. I don't care either way but I'm just saying."

She chuckled.

"I personally prefer not having any hair down there, it feels better for me. I bleached my asshole too," she joked and she finally saw Fitz smile.

"Well finally a smile, it took you long enough."

"I'm still angry with you."

"Blah blah blah, no you're not."

"You are a little trouble maker aren't you?"

"Only if I really like you," she flirted.

Fitz smiled.

"So why did you do today?"

"Spent a few hours at the spa, I got a really great massage from this very attractive guy… I was butt naked and oiled up."

Fitz eyed her.

"He's gay, seriously Fitz you fall for the bait every single time."

"Whatever, what else did you do?"

"I got a really great steam facial and acupuncture session then I went to Barney's and bought myself a new pair of Alaia heels and a Saint Laurent bag and this really cute dress from Gucci."

"Sounds a whole lot more fun than my day, I spent the day in Utah, arguing with it's governor about a new LGBT bill he is trying to pass that allows discrimination, it's disgusting."

"Well, thank you for fighting the good fight, I appreciate it and I'm sure millions of others do as well."


	13. Chapter 13

Olivia's birthday was fast approaching and with only two weeks left with her, he need to do something big. Fitz had been meditating on her gift since she had thrown him the impromptu birthday party weeks earlier. It was perfect and thoughtful and he had no idea how he was going to top that or even reciprocate it. Money was no object for him but the problem was that Olivia couldn't be bought, he'd been around her long enough to know that just buying her a necklace or a purse wouldn't really impress her, she had all those things already. It took him some time to figure out what he was going to get her but he still had no idea what to do for her, he wanted to make her feel special, the way he felt when she threw him the party. He managed to steal Abby's number from her work phone before he left, he planned to call and try to get her to tell him what Olivia liked since she knew Olivia better than he did.

He sat in the oval office, waiting for Lauren to put him through on a secure private line to Abby. Once Lauren put him through, he sat waiting for Abby to pick up.

"Who is this?"

"Hey Abby, it's Keith, Olivia's friend."

"Hi Keith." Abby said awkwardly.

"Olivia's birthday is coming up and you know her better than I do, do you have any idea of what I could do for her birthday that she'd like?"

Abby pondered.

"She must really like you because she's totally been blowing me off for the last month, she won't even let me come to D.C. to visit but anyways she likes food so if you really want to impress her then cook something for her, don't take her out to eat because she goes out to eat all the time."

"I have no idea how to cook."

Abby chuckled.

"Even if it taste like cardboard, she appreciate the thought but if you really can't cook order a back up pizza or something, she also really likes wine, she doesn't drink it often but she likes it, it can't be anything cheap though."

"Do you know her favorite dish?"

"She likes everything."

"Thank you Gabby, I really appreciate your help."

"It's Abby and I just wanna say that I've known Olivia a really long time and she's the kindest, sweetest, most loyal and all around best person I know. I also know that she really likes you alot because she won't shut up about you every single time I get her on the phone it's Keith, Keith, Keith and that's not really her thing so what I'm saying is don't hurt my friend."

Fitz smiled.

"I hear you loud and clear."

Abby hung up and Fitz sat at his desk smiling, he kind of liked that Abby was protective of Olivia. After the handjob incident with Olivia days earlier, he couldn't stop thinking about what she said to him 'Hurry up and get divorced so I can show you how a woman is suppose to treat a man like you,'. He kept trying to think of ways to speed the process along but Mellie was above all, difficult. He had his lawyers harassing her every second of every day but she wouldn't budge. He had half a mind to walk into the press room and announce the divorce himself but that would mean an all out war and he wasn't ready for that as yet, not till Olivia left for her trip and was far out of reach so they couldn't use her against him. He sat bouncing ideas off of himself when he finally found a solution.

"Tom?" he called loudly.

Within seconds Tom entered the room.

"Yes Mr. President?"

"I need a favor…"

"Anything sir."

"I need you to leak to the press that I asked Mellie for a divorce and I need you to do it quick, I want it in the the midday news."

Tom nodded.

"Okay sir," he headed out to complete his task.

Right away Fitz called his press secretary's extension and told him to come to his office immediately. Fitz waited two minutes before he heard the patter of footsteps heading to the office.

"Mr. president?" Josh said as he entered.

"Josh, some time today a new story claiming that I have filed for divorce from my wife will break, when the reporters ask you about it, you will neither confirm nor deny, tell them that I ask that they respect our privacy, that's your line to everything regarding a possible divorce."

Josh nodded.

"Got it sir."

"Thank you Josh."

With that out the way, Fitz was finally able to go back to work. He planned to make a visit to the chef later on, he wanted the chef to teach him how to make something for Olivia but in the meantime, he was content to wait until the news of his divorce hit the press.

By 3pm that day, Fitz began flipping through news channels waiting for the divorce news to hit. As he was flipping through he came across a news story about Olivia and the gymnast she operated on. Marisa had regain her vision and was up and running like nothing ever happened earlier than Olivia gave her permission to. As she was exiting the the hospital, reporters bombarded her with questions of how she was able to come back after a fall of that magnitude. She stopped to answer the reporter's question proudly.

"Olivia Pope saved me, she operated on me for free and when I kick butt at worlds then the olympics, I'm dedicating my gold medal to her because if it wasn't for her, I would've been blind for the rest of my life."

The reporters began firing questions again but this time Marisa ignored them and was carried away by her father through the small crowd.

Immediately after Marisa's story was finished the divorce was breaking news everywhere. He waited patiently for Mellie arrival and as it turns out, he didn't have to wait very long because ten minutes later, in walked Mellie.

"Have you seriously lost your mind?"

"What?"

"I know you leaked the divorce story Fitz, I'm not an idiot."

"I didn't leak anything and I don't appreciate you accusing of leaking information to the press."

"Oh bullshit, why isn't Josh denying it?"

"Because that would be lying Mellie, I am going to divorce you, there is no two ways about it so. Are we done here?"

Mellie wanted to throw Olivia in his face if nothing but to catch him off guard but she didn't want him to know that she knew about Olivia as yet so she bit the bullet and stormed off.

Olivia walked into her apartment after a long and tiring shift at the hospital, she was leaving in less than two weeks and while she was excited to be going away, she was going to miss Fitz terribly and idea of missing him put a damper on the trip and since the handjob incident, she hadn't been able to stop thinking about being with him. Her dreams had gotten so wild that even after she woke up, she couldn't stop thinking about it and she found herself getting ridiculously wet whenever she remembered the feeling of his big hard cock in her hand and worst part was that the memories would flare at the oddest of times like during surgery or a random conversation with another person, it was torture. She wondered if he got boners during the day thinking about her too. Then she thought about the fact that he had been unusually quiet all day, only calling a few times to check in with her but she didn't think twice about it, she knew he was a busy man.

She showered and dressed for bed and scavenged through the refrigerator for leftovers. She ended up settling for a bowl of popcorn as she sat in front of the television and and switched through the channels. She flipped past the news channels absently until the headline caught her attention. She only needed to read the headline once before she pulled out her phone and dialed Fitz's number. He picked up on the first ring.

"Livie.."

"Don't Livie me, why didn't you tell me you were going to announce your divorce you skittle dittle."

He chuckled, he had no idea where she came up with all the little nicknames that she did.

"I don't really have an excuse, I just wanted you to see it and call to ask me."

"Well you got your wish. That was smart of you though, to leak it."

"How do you know I leaked it?"

"It's obvious that you wanted people to know, you aren't denying it."

"Mellie might. She seems determined."

"She won't deny it unless you deny it with her, if she goes out there all by herself and tell them it's a lie without you by her side she'll look, I'm sorry to say it but... pathetic and she's a proud woman, she won't go out like that."

"I don't want her to make her look bad but I need to get this divorce, I want you Olivia."

She blushed so hard, her cheeks hurt.

"I want you too and I miss you, I'm going crazy a little bit over here."

"Well someone has a birthday coming up, maybe you'll get a little bit of me on your birthday."

"Don't tempt me, seriously don't."

Fitz chuckled.

"Ah ha, doesn't feel so good does it?"

"No," Olivia admitted.

There was a knock on Fitzs door in the oval, he had a late night joint chiefs meeting.

"Liv, I have a late night joint chiefs meeting I have to get to."

"Okay, I'll talk to you later."

He hung up.

"One sec Cy, I'm coming."

He organized his desk quickly to meet Cyrus but when the door opened it wasn't Cyrus.

"Dad?" the only reason he was shocked that big Gerry was there was because he was sure that he had been in New york a few hours earlier.

"You look surprised to see me, with everything that's going on I would have thought you would expect a meeting with your father."

"Why would I expect you here, whatever's going on between me and Mellie has nothing to do with you."

"I have worked way too hard and spent way too much money getting you elected for president, why are you willing to throw that away?"

"I'm getting divorced not impeached,"

"Fitz whatever your reason for the divorce, it isn't worth it, go out there and deny those rumors and clean this mess up."

"I'm not gonna do that."

"I'm not gonna argue with you, fix this now Fitzgerald."

"Okay, I'll fix it, first thing tomorrow I'll tell the press it's a complete lie."

Fits had no intention of doing so but if telling Gerry he would, could get him out of the current conversation then it was worth it. Gerry wasn't used to Fitz backing down so quickly, he had half a mind to throw Olivia in his face but he knew how irrational Fitz could get when he was angry and since he didn't yet understand the full scope of his relationship with her he didn't know if throwing her in his face would help or not. If she was just some fling then he couldn't really use her as leverage if she wasn't worth anything to him. He decided to wait and see if Fitz was going to keep his word.

Gerry left shortly after, Fitz went about attending his meetings then stopped by the kitchen to get a cooking lesson with the White House chef, who he begged to stay later in the night so he could have the lessons in private.

As the days past and Olivia's birthday got closer and closer. In between preparing for her trip and working shifts at James Madison, she was busy and they managed to have small conversations throughout the day but at night they would talk on the phone for hours about nothing and everything. Fitz was busy too, between the U.N crisis, the divorce drama and preparing for Olivia's birthday his plate was full. Gerry had been watching carefully, waiting on Fitz statement but it had been 5 days since the divorce broke the news and Fitz was still silent. People were growing antsy about his silence and between Mellie and Cyrus' complaining, he knew it was time to do something. He decided to pay Fitz another visit, he knew he had to tread carefully but he still needed to find out the extent of his relationship with Olivia to see if she was the reason behind the whole divorce debacle and then he would know what to do from there.

It was evening when Gerry walked down the hall to the oval office, he knocked and waited for Fitz to invite him in.

Fitz was in the middle of arguing with Mellie when he heard a knock on the door, he couldn't invite them in fast enough, it was a guaranteed way to get Mellie to leave but when Gerry walked in, it seemed to him like a double whammy.

"Oh god, both of you?" Fitz said in frustration.

"Gerry you need to tell him to stop with crap, people seriously believe this is going to happen, it's not dying down," Mellie complained.

"It is going to happen," Fitz fired back.

"Mellie, I need to talk to my son!" Gerry demanded.

"Good, talk some sense into him finally -"

"Excuse me Mellie!" Gerry said cutting her off rudely.

Mellie couldn't stand Gerry, he was a misogynist and was as elitist, narcissistic and pompous as they came but he was key to getting things done and he was a package deal with Fitz so she put up with him whenever she had to.

"Fine!" she said as she stormed out.

Gerry waited for Mellie to make her exit then walked over bar cart and poured a generous amount of scotch from the decanter and offered it to Fitz.

"You want a glass?" he asked.

"Sure," he said as he walked back to his desk and took a seat.

Moments later, Gerry came over with the scotch.

"So, it's been almost a week and you haven't said anything about these divorce rumors, what's going on buddy?"

Fitz sighed.

"First of all, don't call me that. Secondly, I already told you I plan on getting this divorce, what is it going to take for you to believe me because I'm about 3 seconds away from walking into the press room and telling everyone I gave Mellie the papers myself."

"I just want you to tell me why. Why do you want a divorce now, after all these years?"

"I've alway wanted a divorce, don't pretend you never knew that."

"I do but you seem so much more passionate about it now, what's changed?"

"Nothing's changed."

"You're my only son Fitzgerald, I know you like I know my own name. Something's different about you, admit it."

"What's different?"

Fitz was anxious to see where Gerry was trying to steer the conversation.

"I can't put my finger on it, you've got a little pep in your step, it can't be Mellie, are you seeing someone else?"

"Nope."

"Are you sure? I'm your father you can tell me? You can trust me, you know that."

"What are you trying to find out?"

"I know."

Fitz was getting a little defensive.

"You know what?"

"I know about you and the doctor."

"What about me and what doctor?"

"Come on Fitz, I'm not trying to chastise you, I just want you to be honest with me that's all."

Fitz calmed down, Gerry seemed genuine.

"Who told you?"

"Mellie."

"What?" Fitz asked visibly shocked.

"She doesn't really know anything, she suspects but I shut her down weeks ago, she hasn't said anything since but after she told me I had to find out for myself."

"What exactly did you find out?"

"I know you went to apartment a few times."

"How do you know that?"

Gerry wasn't about to tell Fitz he had a private investigator watching Olivia, so he decided to lie.

"One of your guards,"

"Really, which one?"

"It's not important."

"Yes it is. If I have guards that I can't trust to keep their mouths shut then I need new guards."

"Fitz don't worry about that. The point is what are you doing? Why are you seeing this girl?"

"Why do you care?"

"Because if this blows up in your face, I need to know what's going on so I can have your back, is it just sex or is it more? I'm your family, you're my son and number one priority, you and my grandson. I need to know so I can protect you."

"It's not just sex, we haven't even had sex."

"You expect me to believe you aren't having sex with you hot doctor girlfriend," Gerry chuckled lightening the mood.

"I swear, I'm not," Fitz said as he chuckled too.

"So what is going on between the two of you then? She's just a friend?"

"Noooo, she way more than that."

That was when Gerry saw it, he assumed it was what Mellie saw as well.

"You love her," it wasn't a question, it was more like an observation that Gerry made, a eureka moment.

"Yeah dad, I love her."

"So that's why you're getting the divorce."

Fitz sighed.

"Don't get me wrong, I know this divorce is gonna be nasty, both in the court of public opinion and in actual court and I probably wouldn't have bothered fighting for this divorce if I didn't meet Olivia but I did. She's worth it and I'm going through with this divorce whether or not you or Cyrus or the american people like it."

Gerry was silent for a moment then he began.

"It's quite the thing, being in love with a woman. I remember when I met your mother she was a bombshell, I thought she was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. She was so famous and I was a little intimidated at first and just like you and Mellie at first, she hated my guts. I tried to wine and dine her, dazzle her with my charm and money, she saw through all the bullshit every time. It wasn't until I honestly sat her down and told her my true feelings that she began to give me the time of day. I wasn't good to your mother, she deserved so much better than what I gave to her while she was alive. She might not have been able to stand me for most of our marriage but she loved you more than life itself. She always boasted what a great president you would be someday, she always wanted to see that, it's a pity she never did."

Fitz had been feeling sentimental from Gerry's performance up until his last sentence.

"Was that what this whole speech was about ,you're going to use mom's death to guilt me into staying married to Mellie? For one second I thought maybe you could put the politics behind you but I guess not!"

"I'm not trying to manipulate you, you are too stubborn for that."

"That's never stopped you before."

"What I'm saying is, you've made be proud since the day you were born. You've been exceptional at everything you've done since you could do things. You are the best thing about me, every single person I meet the first thing I mention is you, seriously they are tired of me. All I'm saying Fitz is that, you've worked hard to be president and you deserve it, don't throw it all away by trying to pull this quickie divorce to be with Olivia, you have to do it the right way. Let me help you, it's the first time a president is getting divorced in office, it's gonna take time."

"I don't want to be married to her anymore."

"I understand that, I promise to help you but promise me that you won't rush through this. Let me help you to do this the right way so that you can come out of this in one piece."

Fitz sighed.

"Olivia leaves for doctors without border in a 6 days. She'll be gone for a few months. I want the ball rolling on this divorce during that time and I'll know if your stalling."

"I won't."

"Dad seriously, Olivia is not coming back from her trip to a married man."

"I know Fitz, I told you I'm looking out for you and I meant it.."

Gerry got up from his chair.

"Give your father a hug," he demanded.

"I'm not a hugger."

Gerry chuckled.

"Alright buddy."

He down what little scotch he had left and made his exit.


	14. Chapter 14

Olivia woke up to the sound of knocking on her door. She yawned and stretched and jumped out of bed. She rubbed her eyes as she walked to the door and checked the peephole, it was a random woman dressed in what seemed to be a chef jacket. She opened the door.

"Hi?"

"Hello Olivia, I'm Leslie and I'm a personal chef here to cook you breakfast, I've been ordered by someone named Keith. May I come in?" Leslie said with a smile.

"Sure."

Olivia couldn't help but smile widely.

Leslie picked up a brown paper bag full of groceries and stepped in.

"The kitchen is right this way," Olivia said as she walked her over.

Leslie washed her hands and began taking the food items out of the bag.

"This morning, I will be making you an egg frittata with spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes and mozzarella cheese."

Olivia smiled and clapped her hands excitedly.

"I'm excited, I can't wait to eat it."

She heard another knock on the door and walked over to see who it was. When she saw that it was another delivery man, she opened the door. There was a huge bouquet of roses on the floor, so big that she couldn't manage to pick them up so she stepped aside and made the delivery man do it. There had to be a hundred red roses and in the middle where white roses arranged in the shape of a heart. It made her smile. The delivery man stepped out into the hallway and then came back with an assortment of helium foil balloon letters in red that said happy birthday. She tipped the delivery man before he left then went to brush teeth and wash her face before she called Fitz. He picked up on the first ring.

"Is it somebody's birthday today because I can't remember?" he teased.

"Thank you, seriously this is the perfect gift, food and roses and balloons,I love it."

She walked back over to the kitchen and sat on the stool waiting for Leslie to serve her, the food was ready.

"The day is still very young…"

She smiled.

"Does that mean more surprises?"

"You'll have to wait and see."

"Breakfast is served," Leslie said as she placed the tray of garnished food in front of her.

"Wow, this looks great,"

"Eat up Livie, call me when your done,"

"Okay," she said, giggling like a giddy school girl.

She hung up and ate the food in it entirety, she was excited to see Fitz's other surprises for her.

She called Fitz back as she was getting ready for work, it was her last day at James Madison because in a couple days she would be leaving for Dubai. She headed to the hospital for a mid shift so she could be out by 7pm because she was sure Fitz was coming over. It's wasn't an overly chaotic day at the emergency room, things were calm by the standards she was used to. By midday Stephen offered to take her out to lunch as a birthday gift but she was still so full from breakfast that she declined. She was on break when Stephen came to tell her that she had a visitor waiting for her in the lobby. She followed anxiously, she didn't expect anyone so she wasn't sure who it could be. She walked out to the lobby, in the direction that Stephen pointed. A gentleman walked up to her.

"Are you Olivia Pope?"

"I am."

He pulled a birthday crown out of his bag and placed it on her head and then suddenly about twenty random people from oddly packed lobby stood up and broke out into song.

"Happy birthday to ya, happy birthday, happy birthday to ya…"

They danced circles around her, clapping and singing. She giggled shyly and felt awkward being the center of attention in a situation like that but she also felt special. At the end of the song they all gathered and shouted;

"Happy birthday Livie!"

Then just as quickly as they came, they filed out of the room after their grand performance.

She walked back off to Stephen after a few random people in the waiting room told her happy birthday and they walked back to the doctor's lounge.

"What was that about?"

Olivia smiled but didn't answer.

"Why, you jealous?"

"No but I'd like to meet this mystery guy that's had you giggling all morning."

"I'm sure you would but you're not going to…"

She pulled out her phone as they approached the lounge and called Fitz.

"Did you like it?"

"Are you kidding me, that was awesome. I didn't expect it at all, seriously."

Fitz smiled.

"Remember Livie that day is still young…"

"Fitz-"

He didn't wait for her reply, he just hung up. She had been so engrossed in her phone call with Fitz, she totally ignored Stephen who was right beside her.

"Who is Fitz? I thought you said his name was Keith?"

"His middle name it Fitzpatrick, sometimes I call him Fitz."

"Oh okay."

He didn't think twice about her answers because he didn't think she had a reason to lie, it wasn't that big of a deal.

Olivia went about her day as usually although she was so filled with excitement that she had to work that much harder to focus. She couldn't get out of the hospital fast enough, once her shift was over, she barely said goodbye to Stephen and then she sprinted out. It took her half hour to get home and once she reached her floor, she saw Tom, Hal, Josh and three other guards she didn't know lined up at different spots in the hallway. She walked up to Tom and Hal.

"Happy birthday Ms. Pope," Tom said.

"Tom, I told you to call me Olivia and how did he get in there, you know what, don't worry about. Thank you for the birthday wish," she said with a smile.

She opened the door and immediately the aroma of italian spices filled her nose. She walked over to the kitchen to find Fitz cooking. He didn't see her walk over, he was too busy washing something Olivia couldn't see in the kitchen sink. His jacket was thrown over the couch, his sleeve were rolled up, he looked normal and unsuspecting.

"Fitzgerald."

He turned around and smiled his charming smiled that made her melt every time.

"It took you long enough."

"Are you cooking Fitz? You can't cook."

"I am cooking, it's almost finished, 20 minutes tops."

She smiled and walked over and gave him a peck on the lips, to which Fitz grinned widely.

"Let me go shower really quickly, I smell like the hospital."

"Very quickly, five minutes max and then I'll pull you out the shower.."

"Five minutes max."

She went to go shower while Fitz finished preparing the meal. She bathed quickly and dressed in some cotton shorts and a tank top with no bra underneath just to keep him on his toes. She walked back over to the kitchen island and sat on the stool.

"Five minutes huh?"

"What, I had to take a proper shower," she said in defense.

He placed a wine glass on the counter in front of her and poured the glass full.

"Are you sure you're over 21?" he teased.

She rolled her eyes playfully and took a sip.

"This is my favorite wine, how did you know, I never told you that."

"I'm the president Olivia, I know things."

She watched as he stirred something in the pan.

"When did you learn how to cook?"

"This week."

"What?"

"Seriously, this week, I had the white house chef teach me how to make this specific dish, ask me to make anything else and I'm pretty sure I won't know how."

She chuckled.

"I'm impressed, never thought I'd see the day when you cooked."

Fitz smiled.

"Neither did I but I know how greedy you are so I figured if I feed you, you'll be happy."

"You were right, I'm excited, I can't wait to taste it."

"Well, it's pretty much finished now I think."

"Good I'm famished."

She took another sip of wine and waited as Fitz served her food.

"Dig in," he ordered.

"Aren't you gonna eat too?"

"I'm not really hungry."

"Well it's my birthday and I say you have to eat too."

He obliged and made a plate for himself and sat on the stool beside her.

Olivia waited until Fitz was beside her to take her first bite. Fitz watched anxiously and waited for her reaction.

"Do you like it? Is it horrible?"

She chewed the last bit and swallowed.

"No, it's actually pretty good. It definitely tastes like it was made by a professional."

She laughed.

"Look at you, learning how to do stuff," she teased.

He rolled his eyes.

"Can I ask you something?" He asked.

"Sure, what's up?" she said as she took another bite of the shrimp on her fork.

"Is this your endgame?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, is this what you see yourself doing for the rest of your life or do you have other ambitions and goals?"

She smiled.

"I'll always do Doctors Without Borders, it's an amazing experience and I get to meet the great little kids and strong women all over the world and I don't know if I'll ever be able to give that up but in the future I think I'd like to open my own medical center. It'll be technologically advanced and ideally whenever a doctor told someone that their condition was inoperable or incurable, they would come to my center and we'd be able to cure them. It's idealistic, at best, I know but it's fun to think about."

Fitz smiled.

"That's bring us to your last gift."

"More gifts," she said excitedly.

"One last one."

He got up and walked to the other side of the island and picked up a packet that had been on the far side of the counter. He placed it in front of her and moved her mostly empty place to the side.

She inspected the packet before opening it, she could tell there were pages inside.

"Is this a copy of the new game of thrones book that hasn't come out yet?" she asked with wide eyes.

"No," Fitz said it as if that was the silliest thing he'd ever heard.

"Oh,"

"Just open the packet and read it."

She smiled.

"Okay,"

She opened the packet and pulled out a stack of papers. It had to be about 200 pages.

On the cover sheet of the stack of papers read;

"Proposition to expand medical accelerator labs across the United States."

She gasped.

"No way!"

"Go on, read it,"

Fitz had never actually seen Olivia read anything before, it was truly a sight to behold. She was like a machine. It was as if she took a picture of each page mentally, processed it in about as much time as it takes a person to blink and then skipped to the next page, he had known speed readers, he was one himself. A skill he developed after years of reading thousands of pages, throughout law school and his governorship. A skill that had become most useful in his presidency given all the daily briefings he had to read but he'd never seen anything like Olivia. She was done reading in minutes.

She looked at him, still utterly shocked that he would do something like that.

"I've been thinking for weeks on what to get you for your birthday, it's not really like you want for anything and there's not much I can buy you that you can't by for yourself. When you told me about the labs I knew you were 100% right, we spend billions every year on guns and fighter jets without hesitation but not enough on labs and medical research centers so I got my health and science secretaries and a few other experts to help me put this together to introduce it to to congress."

She hopped off her stool and walked over to him.

"There is nothing you could have bought me that would make me feel the way I feel right now."

She wrapped her hands tightly around his waist and buried her face in his chest.

"Thank you, that was the best gift you could have ever gotten me, I really appreciate it."

"I'm glad you like it."

"I love it," she said with a chuckle.

She held on to him for a while longer, just content to take in his scent and then she stepped back. She hoisted herself up on the countertop of the kitchen island and took a seat.

"So, your plan was to romance me with a nice dinner and…" she trailed off seductively.

Fitz walked over and stood between her legs with his arms wrapped loosely around her waist.

"Isn't the romance enough?"

She pressed her forehead against his and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Not right now it's not."

Fitz smirked at her cheekiness and kissed her. Olivia was ready and willing and wet for him after the extreme displays of affection he showed to make her feel special on her birthday. She opened her legs wider and wrapped them around his waist. She slowly began to unbutton his shirt. It was a vulgar kiss, it was hungry and erotic and there was no restraint on either of their parts. Their mouths open, their tongues explored and tasted as if it was their first kiss all over again. Once she had his shirt undone, she pulled it down his arms and threw it on the floor. His chest was cleanly shaven, she could see his scar from his gunshot wound where she had stitched him up. Fitz moved his hands under her shirt to feel her skin, it was soft as if she had just taken a bath in milk. He reached further and further under her shirt until he found himself pulling it off of her so he could get full view of her breasts, it had been too long since he last saw them. Once he had her shirt off, he reluctantly moved from the sweet taste of her lips to kiss and suck and nibble down her neck.

Olivia panted as she felt his tongue slither over her erect nipples and kissed down her stomach. When he reached down to her navel he pulled back. There was a slight paused in which he wait for her to object but when she didn't he wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her slightly off the countertop so he could pull her shorts off leaving her in just her white lace thong. She spread her legs apart, inviting him to come to her. His eyes were dark with hunger and lust, hers were too. He pulled her closer to him so that her legs were hanging off the counter and kissed her again. As Fitz kissed her she felt his finger glide over the lace of her thong down her slit. She shuddered. He did it over and over and over again. She never dreamed that a gentle stroke, down her slit, barely touching her clit could drive her so wild but it did, she was on the verge of begging him to enter her when the was a knock on the door and everything was ruined. Tom rushed in not waiting for permission. Olivia covered her breast and buried her face into Fitz's neck. Fitz did his part to shield her nakedness too.

"Sir, we have a situation."

"What is it?"

Tom gave him a knowing look and Fitz knew that meant it was serious.

"Alright Tom give me a minute."

"Yes Sir."

Tom exited quickly giving them privacy.

"I don't know how much more of this I can take," Fitz said angrily.

Olivia ran her hands through his hair.

"Go, it's okay. I'm sure whatever it is, is very important."

She kissed him softly on the lips.

After years of pent up anger and sexual frustration he was ready to devour Olivia. He wasn't sure how much longer he could hold it together anymore. He was angry and annoyed but not with her, never with her, with himself for being in the situation that he was in and not being able to be with her freely and openly.

She hopped off the counter and picked up his shirt and began dressing him.

"Wow you were so close to getting some, so close," she teased.

Fitz's face finally softened into a smile.

"This is not funny."

She kissed him on the cheek again then she grabbed his jacket and held it out for him. When he had his jacket on she smoothed his hair out on last time, and gave him a once over to make sure he was perfect.

"There you go, you're perfect."

She walked him to the door.

"I'm sorry."

She was still naked save her lace thong and he tried not to look.

"Don't worry about it, it's okay, today was perfect regardless."

He leaned in and kissed her on the lips.

She smiled and slapped him on his ass.

"Go. Tight buns,"

He gave her one last look before he left.

Once he was in the hallway he walked briskly behind Tom who was ready and waiting for him.

"What's going on Tom because I'm about three seconds away from choking you for stopping what was about to happen in there."

Tom knew he was joking about the threat.

"We found the assassin sir, they have him at the pentagon."

"What the fuck Tom, can you start with that next time? Let's go!"

They hurried back to the cars and then to the pentagon.

They had been hunting his assassin ferociously since the shooting, Fitz wanted answers. So far, they knew he had been paid 15 million to perform the assassination, they weren't sure if he was suppose to be paid more afterwards. Nolan Ronan, was an international mercenary. He was on the CIA watch list but he went quiet for a few years and they took him off of priority. He was an American, before he began selling his services he was a sniper for the marines.

Fitz stopped at the window briefly before walking into the room. Nolan sat quietly at the desk, he was as calm cucumber.

No one had touched him as Fitz ordered. When Fitz entered the room Nolan seemed shocked to see Fitz.

"Mr. President?"

"In the flesh," Fitz said casually as he sat across from him.

They sat quietly for a while then Fitz began.

"Who paid you to try to kill me?"

Fitz decided to get straight to the point.

"I don't know."

"Let's try again. Who paid you to try and assassinate me?"

"I don't know."

"Let's be amiable about this Nolan, we can work with you but you've got to work with us. I want to know who wants me dead and I want to know if they'll try it again."

"You don't really want to know who wants you dead."

"I don't?"

"No, you don't."

"Why not?"

Nolan stayed quiet. He was so calm and collected and that was what was pissing Fitz off.

"Who hired you?"

Nolan didn't answer.

Fitz took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves.

"Are you going to hit me Mr. President because I know my rights

"You don't have any rights, at least not in this room."

"One last chance," Fitz said as he stood and walked over to him.

Nolan stayed silent.

"Alright let's see how long you can hold out."

Fitz knuckle connected connect to his jaw and he fell off the chair. Tom, Hal, Josh and Rob stood by ready to pounce if Nolan tired anything. Fitz grabbed Nolan off the by his collar and punched him again. The blood drained from his mouth but Fitz didn't stop. The more he punched Nolan the angrier he got, he saw red and only red. Nolan's blood splattered on the ground and on his shirt.

"Who hired you Nolan?"

Fitz pulled back and waited for an answer. When he didn't get one, he gave him another forceful punch, Fitz heard his teeth crash together. Fitz pulłed back to hit him again but this time Nolan held his hand up, trying to get Fitz to pause and he did.

Fitz waited impatiently for Nolan to start talking.

"It was someone that's close to you," he mumbled.

Fitz felt his heart skip a beat.

"Who?"

Nolan was quiet again, his consciousness was slipping away.

"Who?"

"I can't -"

"You can't what?"

Nolan was silent.

"You better answer me or I'll punch you again and I won't stop this time."

Nolan slipped into unconsciousness.

Fitz shook him but his was totally limp.

"Fuck!"

Fitz started pummeling his face again and when it was getting too much Tom and Hal pulled him off forcefully.

"Let me go Tom!" Fitz commanded.

"You're going to kill him, we still need answers."

Fitz took a deep breath and composed himself.

"Fine but I want answers from him, do not stop until you get them Tom."

"We have the best interrogators waiting to talk to him."

Fitz put his jacket on and walked out, his guards in tow.

When they got pack to the car, the words kept running through his head; 'it was someone close to you',"

Paranoia set in and he needed to get something off his chest. He turned to Tom.

"Tom, did any one of your guards tell my father about my visits to Olivia? Do you know?"

Tom seemed thrown off by his questions.

"Sir, my agents don't reveal your whereabouts to anyone, I can promise you that none of my agents are revealing any information about you to anyone."

Fitz leaned back.

"I didn't think so either. Tom, you heard what he said back there."

"I did Sir, if that's true, we'll find out who it is."


	15. Chapter 15

Olivia sat up in her bed. The minute Fitz left last night she downed a sleeping pills and went to bed immediately. She didn't want to have to suffer the after effects of last night and that was the only thing she could think of. Fitz didn't call all night so she knew it must have been important and she wanted to find out what was going on. She stretched and hopped out of bed and walked over to the couch to turn on the t.v. She expected breaking news but there was none. She flipped through the channels waiting to see some special headline but there was nothing out of the ordinary. She ended up stopping on a channel that was showing a short documentary on Fitz, it had just began and she decided to see what they were saying about him. During most of his presidential campaign, she was in and out of the country and too busy doing her own thing to worry about politics, she didn't even get to vote in the general election. She listened intently as they began. She smiled as the flipped through pictures of Fitz doing random things. In one picture, he was clad in his high school bobcats football uniform, he was the quarterback. He was smiling his dashing debonair smile and kneeling on one knee in his picture. In another, he was holding Gerry, who looked to be about three years old. They were on the beach, Fitz had a surfboard in one hand and Gerry in the other.

"President Grant's story was an American Dream. He was born in Santa Barbara, California, on July 27, 1965 at the Santa Barbara Presbyterian hospital, he was 9 pounds 2 ounces. He was the first and only son of Fitzgerald Thomas Grant II and Cynthia Walter. His father, Fitzgerald Grant II was the then heir to Grant empire. You may may be familiar with the Grant Conglomerate, the business started with Fitzgerald Thomas Grant over a hundred years ago. He was a revolutionary finance wizard. He founded several banks and investment companies which later developed into hedge funds and several other investment entities and is now one of the top privately owned financial companies in the world, operating in more than 50 countries outside of the U.S. You certainly must also know the late Cynthia Walker Grant, famous Hollywood oscar winning actress and Broadway performer who died tragically from cancer. He went to the Montclair school, the best and most expensive private school in Santa Barbara until he was 14 then we went on to the best public high school in the city, His father donated thousands to make sure the school was well funded years before a young President Grant was scheduled to attend to make sure it was up to high standards to accommodate his son. By all reports, he was a nice guy during high school, easy to talk to, showed above average intelligence, athletic and well behaved. He graduated as valedictorian of his high school class and then went on to Harvard. He followed the same path at Harvard, ran for school government and won, he got straight A's and there were even a few pictures of him at a women's rights protest in NYC and a African American social justice march in Washington D.C. during his activism days. After Harvard he went on to Yale, then Oxford. He was apprentice to a member of the British parliament until he graduated Oxford. He joined the military briefly after. Much about his time during his military service is classified but we do know that he has been ranked as one of the best military pilots since the world war. After his brief time in the military, he started working for a corporate law firm in New York City. That was where he met Millicent Graham, they married shortly after and then Fitzgerald Thomas Grant IV was born. While President Grant never took on an official role in his family's company which he is sure to inherit though some say that is a major conflict of interest with his presidency, he did serve as a financial adviser to his father who has been the head of the company for the past 40 years. During his presidential campaign, he ran on his expertise in job creations and tax policy which led him to have a successful governorship in California, leaving the state in a substantial surplus and to eventually win the presidency as a republican candidate but there was been a lot of criticism from the conservative right that he too is liberal on issues of abortion, climate change and gay marriage, his chief of staff and then campaign manager Cyrus Beene is a gay man and that upset a lot of house republicans behind closed doors but none the less, it didn't derail his campaign for president of the United States…"

Olivia changed her attention from the t.v when her phone rang. She was a little annoyed, she was enjoying the short documentary. She checked her caller id and saw that it was Abby so she answered.

"Abigail, what's up?"

She said as she headed to the bathroom, she was so invested in Fitz's documentary that she didn't even brush her teeth or try to eat.

"So how was your birthday with Keith?"

"It was amazing."

"Umm spill it."

Olivia chuckled as she spread the toothpaste on her toothbrush.

"Well in the morning, he sent a chef to my apartment to cook me breakfast, it was delicious and then he delivered a bouquet of balloons and the most beautiful rose arrangement I've ever seen, it was huge, I couldn't even lift it. He had a flash mob show up at the hospital and sing me happy birthday in the middle of the lobby and then when I got home he cooked for me."

"Did you guys have sex, I know your a total whore," Abby joked.

"I'm only a whore on the weekends," Olivia joked back then she got serious.

"No, we almost had sex, he stripped me down to my panties and then he had to leave. I was so ready to have sex with him, so freaking ready but it didn't happen and I was so agitated that I took a sleeping pill and knocked out."

"So wait why did he leave?"

"I don't know, it seemed really important though. I've been teasing him a lot and I half expected him to snap already or do something that to turn me off but he had a lot of self control and it's actually huge turn on and now, well I've always wanted to but now my vagina is crying for him."

"Well you have two more days, you leave Monday morning bright and early, so you'll have the weekend to get it on."

"That's if I can even see him,"

"Enough about lover boy, I can't wait to blow this joint and go to Mumbai, maybe I'll meet a rich Indian tycoon."

"Here, here, to that," Olivia said with a chuckle.

"Alright Abby I need to brush my teeth and sort some things out, I'll call you later or probably not, I'll be spending the next few months with you I'm gonna take all the space away from you I can get."

"Your such a little bitch."

Olivia laughed.

"Later Lucretia."

"I hate my middle name, you know that!"

"Bye."

Olivia hung up and brushed her teeth and took a quick shower.

She tidied up and finished packing and boxing a few things she had to ship back to New York. It took her hours to finish up all the small errands she needed to complete. She debated whether or not to call him, she wanted to but she didn't want to seem annoying and she also didn't want to bother him if he was truly busy. She decided to meditate on it for a while and as she tried to meditate, she found herself suffering from her usual migraine that lasted 5 excruciating minutes but it was shorter than usual so for that she was grateful. Once she recovered from her migraine she decided to call. He didn't pick up after the first call, so she tried again and when he didn't pick up she gave up. She settled into watching as much Star Wars movies as she could until she fell asleep on the couch pretty early in the night.

Fitz spent his entire Saturday at the pentagon, watching Nolan's interrogation and talking with intelligence officers about the events leading up to and after the assassination attempt and trying to find out who exactly was behind it. He wasn't sure who he could trust and he didn't know what Nolan meant by someone close to him. How close? He didn't know what that meant. He saw Olivia's calls but he didn't answer, he wasn't sure what he was going to tell her. He was still in deep anger and he didn't want to take it out on her but she was leaving in a day and he wouldn't see her for months after so he wasn't going to let her go without seeing her.

After a long day at the pentagon and after finding what he had about the entire assassination ordeal he was tired. He was finding out everything except for who ordered it. He went back to the residence to shower. Once he finished showering and walked in his room, Mellie was waiting for him. He immediately got defensive.

"What Mellie? What?"

"Where the hell have you been? No one has seen you all day Fitz and considering the fact that you won't denounce the divorce rumors and people are speculating all kinds of shit about our marriage now is not the time to go AWOL."

He didn't answer her, instead he walked into his closet and began getting dressed.

"Don't ignore me, I am sick and tired of your bullshit and your disrespect Fitz. When I'm talking to you, you better answer!" She screamed.

"You don't think I'm fucking tired of you too. I do not want you. I do not need you. I do not love you. I don't even fucking like you so leave me alone and prepare yourself for a fight because I am getting this divorce come hell or high water!"

He screamed it louder than he intended to. He was sure if anyone was nearby they probably heard but he didn't care because he was at his boiling point.

Mellie was utterly stunned. Her and Fitz had their fair share of fights but he'd never seemed so unstable before and he'd never yelled at her to the point where she was so shaken. She didn't think he'd hurt her physically though, he wasn't that kind of man.

He took a deep breath.

Mellie stared him down and saw his deeply bruised and lacerated knuckles.

"What happened?"

The hate she felt for him was dripping off of her tongue. She truly hated him, with every part of her, she hated that she had loved him but he never loved her, he never even considered loving her.

Fitz decided to do something reckless. If it was someone close to him maybe they were closer than he thought. He stared at her directly so he could gauge her reaction.

"We found my shooter."

He found what he was looking for, the momentary panic that flashed through her eyes. It didn't exactly mean she was guilty but it did mean that she knew something.

"Umm...That's great."

"Not exactly, he won't talk, we've tried everything."

"Guys like that never talk, you'll be better of just killing him."

"That's the plan."

"Good."

He turned back around and continued dressing. He could feel her staring at his back.

"Goodbye Mellie," he said dismissively.

"Sometimes I wish, you did die or that we never met Olivia Pope, maybe if she didn't save your ass you'd be some brain dead loser in a hospice somewhere and just so we're clear, that's when I'd divorce you," she left immediately.

He could hear the deep breath that she let out in relief as she walked out. He smiled to himself, he didn't want to believe that Mellie had anything to do with the shooting but she was the one who decided to throw the gala in the first place and she also stopped him before he tried to exit the car, he'd never thought much into that until now. He didn't think she had any reason to want him dead, after all he'd been her golden ticket and she had been fighting so hard for them to stay together for so long, it wouldn't make sense for her to want him dead but maybe she was tired of him. He tried to calm down and finish dressing himself. When he was finished he called Tom. Tom came into the room quickly.

"Sir, you called."

"Yes, Tom I want all of the agents reporting back to you everything Cyrus and Mellie are doing and if anything seems out of the ordinary, I want you to tell me. I want their phones calls monitored, I want to know who they are speaking to and what they are discussing."

"I'll inform my agents right away."

Moments later, they left for Olivia's.

Olivia hoped Fitz would come, she was preparing for it. She had no idea why he'd been so silent, since her birthday night but she was sure whatever it was that he was occupied with was important but she knew he wouldn't let her leave without saying goodbye. She was sure of that at 12pm, she was a little less sure a 5pm but now it was 9pm and she sat in her black lace cheekies and black silk robe that barely covered her ass and wondered if she'd teased him too much and maybe he lost interest but she knew that was ridiculous, 'Fitz wasn't like that,' she thought to herself. She was ready to give herself to him without reservation, without care towards the standing of his marriage or even the fact that he was president and what could happen if people found out, she just didn't care which was stupid but that was how she felt. He was just a man to her, a man that made her feel special and safe and loved and she wanted to share her body with him. That was what she told herself over and over again.

Fitz always seemed to have impeccable timing when it came to her, she sat on the couch and heard the knock she'd had been waiting for. She jumped up and ran to the door and let him in. Immediately, the smile dropped from her face, he looked angrier than she ever seen him before.

"What's wrong?"

"What?" He asked as he stepped in and closed the door behind him and kicked off his shoes.

"You look angry,"

"I'm not angry, I'm totally fine."

"You are seething, what's wrong."

"Nothing I'm fine, you look great, come here."

He pulled her close to him and enveloped her with his arms. She knew something was off about him.

"So don't tell me you got this fucking sexy for me just to tease me again."

She stepped back.

"Fitz something is wrong with you and that's all I can focus on right now."

Fitz sighed.

"Olivia I'm not in the mood. I said I was fine okay, so just drop it."

"Why are you being so rude?"

Fitz chuckled humorlessly.

"I should've known you were gonna do this. I'll see you tomorrow."

He turned around walked to the door.

"Don't walk away from me when I'm speaking to you and what exactly am I doing, what because I care about you that's so wrong."

She walked behind him and grabbed his hand and saw him wince and looked down at his hand.

"What happened to your hand?"

"Nothing, it's fine."

"Did you get into a fight? How is that even possible don't you have guards?"

"I wouldn't exactly call it a fight."

She looked up at him.

"Start talking Fitz, what's going on?"

"There is nothing to talk about Olivia."

She stepped back, his knuckles were bruised but he had no other injuries, he obviously beat someone up and that was unacceptable for her.

"Did you beat someone up?"

"Olivia I already told you I'm not talking about this, if you keep bringing it up I'm going to leave."

She realized he was already agitated and arguing wasn't going to get them anywhere and decided to take a softer approach. She stepped closer to him and caressed his cheek.

"You're upset, your hands are bruised, obviously you're not okay. I try to be as honest with you as possible and I just wish you'd be the same with me."

He sighed in defeat, he knew she was right and he was also feeling very guilty for his behavior.

"They caught my shooter."

His announcement caught her off guard.

"What?"

"Yeah, I've been back and forth at the pentagon since I left you on your birthday night. I'm sorry about that by the way."

Olivia shook her head in confusion.

"I'm so sorry, it must be hard coming face to face with someone that tried to kill you."

"That wasn't the hard part, he's an assassin, he wasn't just some random nut job that wanted me dead, someone paid him. He said it was 'someone close to me' and he won't say anything else and trust me, we've tried to get him to talk."

"Someone close to you? How close? Maybe he's lying."

"I thought so too but then went I came back from the pentagon earlier this evening, I went to the residence to shower and I came out and Mellie was there. I told her we caught the shooter, I guess I wanted to see her reaction just to prove that maybe I was paranoid for thinking it was her or Cyrus, Gerry is ruthless but he'd kill himself before he killed me because he's gonna need someone to inherit the fortune."

"What did she say when you told her?"

"She panicked."

Fitz paused.

"I told her that we had him in custody and that he wouldn't talk to which she quickly suggested I kill him immediately and then it sort of made sense that it was her, I can't understand why she would do it, that part doesn't make sense. She pushed hard for the gala even though I didn't want it and then seconds before I tried to exit the car she pulled me back and told me not to go, I didn't think twice about it before but now it sort of makes sense and if she really did do this then she had to have worked with someone else and the more I think about it the more paranoid and anxious and angry I get. I feel like there's no one around that I can trust and it's killing me."

"You don't think you can trust me?"

"It doesn't matter, for the next three months, you'll be in east Africa and I'll be here dealing with this shit storm."

"That's not fair Fitz, you know I'd be here for you if I could but I already made a commitment, everything is set I can't change that."

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to make you feel guilty, I do trust you more than anyone, you and my son are the only people I can count on right now but Gerry's a kid, I can't lay this on him and you're gonna be gone for the rest of the year."

"You're frustrated, I know but I'll always be available to you, you can call me whenever you need to talk or laugh or vent. I care about you Fitz I need you to know that, not the presidency or anything else that you feel like you need to be in order for people to love you. I care about you, I - I love you."

Fitz stared at her for a moment then smiled.

"I love you too, so much "

She looked down to hide the huge smile on her face. Fitz tucked a loose curl behind her ears.

"I'm sorry, I was being a little crazy earlier."

She looked up, still unable to keep the smile off her face.

"I think I know how you can make it up to me but you have to promise to be gentle…"

She loosened the tie on her robe and let the delicate fabric slip down her shoulders. She got on the tip of her toes so she could reach up and kiss him. She had her hands wrapped around his waist and deepened the kiss and then she pulled back. She stared at him for a moment and Fitz wondered if this was another one of her teasing sessions but then she slowly began unbuttoning his shirt and then pulled it down his arms and threw it on the floor. She reached up and kissed him again, then she kissed down his neck and chest as she undid his belt buckle and then pulled down his pants and boxers so she had him fully naked. She tiptoed again and kissed him, this time Fitz held onto her face and joined in on the tender kiss. He tugged on her robe and watched as she let it slip down her body. Then he lifted her into the air and she wrapped her legs tightly around him as he walked her over to her bed and laid her down gently.

She laid flat and watched as Fitz pulled her underwear off, her heart was racing and that was when she realized she was extremely nervous. He spread her legs apart and kneeled in between them and hovered over her. He stared into her eyes and he could she see was nervous.

"Are you sure you're ready baby? There is no rush, I'll wait as long as you want me to."

"I'm nervous but I'm leaving and I don't want to imagine what it's like to be with you anymore, I want to feel it right now."

He kissed her softly on the lips and neck and over her breast, he could feel the tension in her body dissipating as she enjoyed the kisses he peppered all over her body. He moved back up to her lips and continued kissing her and when he was certain she had relaxed he entered her slowly. The initial feeling he got from being inside her left him speechless. The feeling of moisture and warmth wrapped so tightly around him was indescribable. Olivia gasped loudly, it was a mixture of shock and pleasure and pain. He filled her up with his well endowed member, she could feel the curve of his tip and the veins that ran down his shaft inside her. Fitz gave her a moment to adjust to him and then slowly thrust back and forth. He looked down and saw tears in her eyes. He immediately thought that he might be hurting her.

"Baby-"

She didn't let him finish, she knew what he was thinking but it was exactly the opposite. She pulled his head down so she could kiss him and then looked up and met his eyes. He was inside her, deep inside her. Their eyes were stuck on each others. Sex had never been so intimate for her, it was always purely physical but now there was no word to describe what she was feeling. She kept her eyes focused on his, she could see the desire in them and the eye contact made her skin feel like it was on fire. She was always a private person but she didn't want to be that way with him. In that moment as he looked down on her, she felt like he could feel everything she felt, hear everything she thought and it was strangely comforting . She wanted to share her body and her mind with him, she wanted him to have ever part of her and tonight, she was going to make sure that he did. She kissed him again.

"I love you," she whispered in between moans.

"I love you."

The sensation of Fitz thrusting in and out of her left her moaning breathlessly. Fitz stopped and pulled out and switched positions so that she was on top. Fitz held on tightly to her waist and eased her down on him. She rocked her hips back and forth slowly and sensually. Fitz watched her as she held onto her breasts in complete ecstasy.

Olivia could feel her orgasm building and started begging Fitz to make her cum. He flipped her again so he was on top. He kissed her as he drove himself in and out of her faster and harder. He could hear her moans through the kiss and as he thrust harder, he felt his own orgasm build as well.

They came together, holding on to each tightly as the pleasure exploded through both their bodies. Their moans and screams fill the room, Tom and his agents stood quietly in the hallway listening.

Fitz held on to Olivia as they both tried to recover from their powerful orgasms. He pulled himself out which bummed Olivia out, she was enjoying the closeness of having him inside her even after they came. She felt his cum dripping down her center and she reveled in the feeling. He spooned her, content to just lay there with her and enjoy the pure bliss he was feeling.

Olivia was still trying to catch her breath and took slow deep breaths to calm herself. They laid quietly for awhile until Fitz spoke.

"What are you thinking about Livie?"

She smiled.

"The fact that I told you I loved you, I thought it would be scary but it wasn't, it felt good," she said softly.

"Well I love you too Olivia Pope, there's nothing scary about that."

She blushed

"You cried," he began again.

"Because I was happy."

He held her closer to his chest, his arms were wrapped protectively around her.

"There is something I wanted to ask you…"

"Are you gonna ask me if came because I think the entire building knows I came," she said with a chuckle.

"No, I felt your orgasm quite explicitly."

She smiled.

"I didn't mean to sidetrack you, what were you going to ask me?"

"I was going to ask you how you would feel if I asked you to take guards on your trip with you, after what you told me almost happened, I'd feel better if you had protection. It would be private security guys, they'd keep a low profile and they wouldn't bother you."

Olivia thought about it briefly.

"If it makes you feel better then I'll take them with me, I suppose it can't hurt to have them there."

Fitz kissed her cheek.

"Thank you so much baby, I'll be able to function better knowing you'll have some protection when you leave."

They were quiet for a while.

"Are you hungry? Thirsty? I can get you something?" Fitz asked.

"Yeah, I'm thirsty."

He got off the bed and walked over to the kitchen. Olivia watched his naked body in motion. He grabbed two can sodas and then walked back over to the bed.

"Come," he said motioning for her to get out of bed.

"Fitz, I can't move, I don't want to."

He pulled her up anyways and used one hand to throw her over his shoulder. She squealed loudly as he walked her over to the couch. He sat down and pulled her in his lap. He opened her soda and handed it to her.

"Thank you."

She took a couple of sips and burped, Fitz laughed in response and kissed her. She could feel his erection forming again. She put their sodas on the coffee table and switched positions so she was straddling him. She kissed him and wrapped her hands tightly around his neck.

"You want more baby?"

"I do," he said with a smirk.

She kissed him again and eased herself down in him and slowly rode him. She kissed all over his face and neck, moaning and panting as he worked to help her keep pace. He quickened the pace and winced when he felt Olivia dig into his back with her fingernails.

He slapped her ass in response.

"Oh god Fitz, don't stop-" she screamed.

She tried to hold out as long as she could but Fitz had her holding on by a thread. He gave her a deep, forceful, punctuated thrust and with that she exploded with waves of pleasure that rippled through her body and soon after he followed. She passed out on top of him minutes later.

She next morning she woke up on the bed and she was a little disoriented at first. It was bright out, it had to be late morning or midday. Fitz wasn't beside her, she assumed he had to leave and she immediately felt alone, she wished he would have told her he was leaving instead of just skipping out. She stumbled out of bed, feeling the consequences of Fitz's onslaught on her body as she headed to the bathroom. As she got closer to the bathroom she could hear the sound of water streaming in the bathroom. When she walked into the bathroom and saw Fitz stepping out of the shower.

He looked up at her and chuckled at her expression.

"What?"

"I thought you left," she said with a smile.

"I've known your were leaving for months now, I cleared my schedule for today weeks ago and it's a Sunday, so unless the world suddenly burst into flames, I'm gonna be right here with you. I have breakfast for you in the kitchen and a whole bunch of briefing papers that are gonna be very fun to read."

She smiled.

"Okay, well I'm gonna take a nice warm bath and then I'll join you."

He nodded and kissed her on his way out the bathroom.

She brushed her teeth and took a warm bath to soothe her aching thighs and then dressed herself in a huge t- shirt and underwear and then walked over to Fitz on the couch. He sat reading his briefings.

She kneeled in front of him, as if she was about to pray to him, it was something she wanted to give him for a long time and she saw her perfect opportunity. He stopped reading and looked down at Olivia who was on her knees in front of him. She pulled his boxers down. He put his files down and gave her his undivided attention. She kissed his tip and then kiss up and down his shaft. He wasn't fully erect as yet, but the second he felt her warm tongue licking up his shaft and balls, his erection was firm and full. She moved from his shaft and flicked her tongue tantalizingly over his tip and when it became too much for him, she took him into her mouth as far as she could manage to.

"Fuck!" He breathed out softly.

She pulled back and breathed, she jerked up and down Fitz's shaft and watched as he closed his eyes and breathed deeply then she took him in her mouth again and sucked hard. She hummed when his tip hit the back of her throat and then pulled back and began again, working her mouth up and down his shaft and humming whenever she saw fit just to drive him crazy and it did. Every time he felt the vibration from her throat hit his sensitive tip it sent a chilling sensation up and down his spine.

"Just like that baby, fuck," she could hear him say softly. He kept his eyes on hers and watched as she serviced his cock.

She pulled back one last time and then took him in her mouth again and sucked him harder and faster. She felt him hold onto her face to steady himself as his orgasm took hold. He felt a deep and ferocious eruption of pleasure vibrate through every nerve in his body. He exploded into her mouth and Olivia pulled back and watched him catch his breath. She smiled as she felt his warm cum slide down her throat.

Fitz looked down and saw the smirk on her face.

"I'm gonna wipe that smile off your face," he said with a slight chuckle as he caught his breath. He was smiling, he was happy, which was a complete turnaround from early last night.

"Maybe you should catch your breath first yeah," she teased.

He pulled her up by both arms and spun her around so her back was to his chest and pulled her into his arms. She closed her eyes and relaxed as she felt him trace small kisses up her shoulder and neck then he spread her out on the couch in front of him.

"You are seriously the most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on, you're perfect."

"I'm far from perfect Fitz."

"Hey, you're perfect to me."

He kissed her lightly on the lips and then kissed down her chin and neck and continued down her body. As he kissed down her torso he spread open her legs and continued kissing over her underwear and up her inner thigh. When he could hear her panting in want for him, he pulled her underwear down her legs then spread her legs apart as wide as they could go to give himself a perfect view.

The first thing he went for was her clit, he slithered the tip of his tongue over her delicate pearl. Her smell was intoxicating, her taste, even more so. He could feel Olivia grab onto his hair and cry out in what might have been the most euphonic sound he had ever heard. When he had her writhing, he moved from her clit and began to tease her wet opening. Her legs trembled as she tried to resist the urge of locking them around him.

Her orgasm built up slowly and intensely and when it took her, she screamed out in pleasure. She hadn't fully recovered from her orgasm but she wanted to feel him inside her.

"I want more Fitz, you can fuck me as hard as you want, as fast as you want, I just want more."

He pulled her up and put her on all fours and then leaned over and whispered in her ear.

"I'll give you more baby, I'll give you as much as you want."

He entered her with a forceful thrust from behind, he held her close and tightly and fucked her hard until they both came.

They took a break and then began again, he took her up against the wall, then in the kitchen when she was trying to fix them a snack and they went on and on.

Tom had left early morning and came back in the late afternoon, he was surprised to still hear them having sex and out of curiosity he decided to ask Hal what had been going on since he left.

"How long has this been going on?"

Hal looked at his watch.

"They've been fucking all afternoon."

"Wow."

"Yep," Hal said awkwardly.

A little while later, back in Olivia's apartment, she laid on top of Fitz on the carpet beside the couch. He stroked her hair gently as she traced line down his torso.

"You have one," she said.

"One?"

"When I'm gone and there's an emergency, or you are feeling unbearably lonely or your penis feels like it going to explode, you have one time, that you can ask me to come back and I will but only for a day."

"Seriously?"

"Yes, for you."

"I will use that very wisely," he said with a chuckle.

They fell asleep shortly after.


	16. Chapter 16

It was very early Monday morning. They laid in the bath tub for hours, she sat behind him with her legs wrapped around him in silence. Fitz only had hours left, he had a busy day ahead of him and had to leave early, so did Olivia.

"When's your flight to Mumbai?"

"7pm tonight."

"JFK right?"

"Yeah, Air India 15 hour flight nonstop."

"Wait, are you flying back to New York or driving?"

"No, I'm driving so I can drop my car at the garage, Harrison is going to be taking care of it while I'm gone."

"You mean joy riding and picking up girls in it," Fitz said with a chuckle.

"Oh absolutely and he's made no secret of it."

"You're keeping the apartment right?"

"Here? No."

"Don't give it up, I'll make the payments on it, it'll be nice to at least have your apartment here."

"Okay."

"And don't take all your clothes either, just leave some of your stuff so if I come here there'll be something with your scent on it."

"Okay weirdo."

Fitz ignored her jab.

"I'm gonna have the guards meet you at the airport tonight."

She spread some soap suds over his chest and shoulders. She was always so nurturing and attentive to him, he was going to miss it.

"I'm sorry about your back, I didn't mean to scratch you, I'm not a scratcher," she said as she inspected the scratch marks.

"I'll take your scratches any day of the week."

She chuckled.

"So Mumbai huh?" He asked.

She smiled.

"It's going to be so fun. I'll be in India for a week before I go to Bali, Dubai, Iran then it's off to Africa. I'm going to go see the Taj Mahal, I've been there before but it's so beautiful I have to go back."

"That all sounds fun but be careful in Iran please."

"Don't worry, I know, I'm gonna wear a hijab whenever I need to and I'll be with all the other doctors, they love us over there, well the people not the fighters but either way it's a great experience, the children are so funny and full of life, I wish you could experience the actual people over there and not just hear about the violence in intelligence reports. The food, the music, the culture- it's all very...magical."

She massaged his scalp with her hands.

"Is there any food out there that you don't like?"

"If it's out there, I haven't come across it yet," she said with a smile.

"Gerry's annoying ass will still be calling you for homework help, I'm sure."

She chuckled.

"He's so much smarter than he knows, I don't know why he doubts himself."

"I tell him that all the time but he ignores me, he's stubborn just like me I guess but he's a great kid and I just want to raise him right, raise him so he uses his wealth and privilege to make the world better. The last thing I want him to be is a rich dick who wears sweater vests and boat shoes."

Olivia chuckled.

"I think you're doing a great job and Gerry loves you and respects you for it. He was absolutely distraught at the hospital when you got shot, if only you could have seen the look on his face when he finally saw you after the surgery, you'd know just how much he adores you,"

"How bad was it?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean when I was shot, how probable was it that I could have had serious brain damage?"

"Fitz you have to stop thinking about what could have happened, you survived, you are perfectly intact. Why are you asking about this anyways?"

"I was arguing with Mellie and she said something and I was wondering what the possibility of that happening was "

"What did she say?"

"Well it was a pretty vicious argument so we both said terrible things to each other,"

"Yeah but what did she say?"

"She said that she wished I had died or better yet she wished you weren't around to work on me so that I could've become brain dead and she would've gladly thrown me in a hospice and given me the divorce I've always wanted but I'm not innocent in the either, I told her I hated her fucking guts so…"

"I think she's got you beat, I'm pretty sure her wishing death on you is worse than you telling her you hate her."

He chuckled.

"This is random and I keep forgetting to ask you but if you had a son what would you name him?"

"Goku, Han Solo or maybe Spock, or probably even Voldemort, why?" She joked.

He laughed.

"Why are you so obsessed with these cartoons?"

"When I was a kid, I didn't exactly get to enjoy my childhood, I was busy studying thermoNuclear astrophysics, calculating the distance between stars for NASA and competing in physics Olympiads, I didn't get to fun things so once I got my freedom, I decided to do things that I liked, I watched cartoons and Disney movies, I read comic books and I dressed up and went to comic con, I did all the things I dreamed of doing when I was younger that my dad never allowed me to do."

"Your dad was pretty tough huh?"

"Pretty tough was an understatement."

"What happened between you two?"

"I don't like talking about it-"

"I shouldn't have asked, sorry."

She smiled.

"I was going to say I don't like talking about it but I want to tell you, you're the man I love Fitz, I like telling you things about myself just like I want to know everything about you."

He smiled and half turned so he could kiss her on the lips.

"So tell me about your dad?"

"Where do I begin, I'm going to redact somethings but uhm… He had his dreams of what I should do with my life and I had mine as you can imagine they were inherently different, he wanted me to be great but for him great didn't mean helping people or making the world a better place, great meant walking on the corpses of anyone who stood in your way to make it to the top. He was quite ruthless that way."

"He sounds a lot like my father."

"Gerry loves you but not in the way that he should. He sees you as an extension of himself and because of that, he's slightly obsessed you."

Fitz chuckled.

"Don't get me wrong, he's dangerous but just not to you, he's dangerous to anyone who he thinks will get in your way but you're safe from him."

She paused and ran the bath sponge across this chest.

"When I was younger, my dad was my hero. He pushed me hard, that never changed but you know when you're a kid, somehow your parents seem perfect and it isn't until you get older that you see their flaws. As I got older, I realized that the only reason he was pushing me so hard was because he was just weaponizing me to sell to the highest bidder."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You remember during World War Two, all the top scientists would have to be protected because every country was trying to kidnap each other's scientists so they could force them to build weapons."

"Yeah."

"What do you think a country like North Korea or Iran would do to get their hands on a scientist who could build from bombs capable of causing nuclear like damage without having to worry about enriching uranium and worry about hiding it from countries like the U.S. because it was undetectable. How much would they pay?"

"They'd pay billions but what does that have to do with you, you are a doctor, your field is medicine?"

"There have been savants that could remember the weather of any day for the past 50 years, ones that could draw, paint, ones that see the world in angles and numbers and measurements, ones that can build and ones that can play thousands of songs on the piano needing only to have heard it once but there has never been one like me who could do it all."

"Olivia what are you getting at?"

"I built a bomb?"

"What do you mean you built a bomb?"

She could see that he was waiting to hear her explanation before he had what could be an explosive reaction, she wasn't sure what he was thinking.

"When I was 16, my dad told me that he didn't think we were spending enough time together since my mother died so he wanted us to work on a project together. I was thrilled until until he told me what he wanted to work on. He said he wanted to build something that would matter, a new kind of weapon, he wanted me to build a bomb."

"Your father?"

"I said said no at first, I told him I wanted to do something fun, I wanted to build a robot or a computer but he was very manipulative and I was 16, he won. He said that it was a chance to prove myself to him, he said that building robots and computer weren't impressive enough because people who weren't as great as me could do that, he said I needed to make my mark and be unique and I was so desperate for his approval that I agreed."

"You are unique," Fitz interjected.

She was glad he was listening attentively instead of rushing to conclusions.

"Thank you," she said as she gave him a small kiss on the shoulder.

"The only problem is I didn't know anything about bombs so I read hundreds of books and research on thermonuclear astrophysics, combustion, metals, aerodynamics, propulsion and everything I could think of in regards to ingredients on how to build one and then I began drafting blueprints. I did the math, a considered the chemical components and the metals even the environmental impact, I had everything ready theoretically to build the bomb and a very small rocket to launch it. I tested chemicals and changed properties and blended until I created something new, something deadly but it was all on paper."

"Wait. What exactly did you create?"

"A new chemical compound, once it was detonated it had the ability to turn even tungsten to ash, I could blow a hole into a city, once the chemical attacked something it completely destroyed it. I didn't give the chemical a name, I didn't want to."

"Olivia why did you do that?"

"I was naive, I never thought that it was anymore than a project or maybe I kind of knew but I wanted to impress him so badly that I did it anyways. I presented it to him and I told him what it could do. He was proud, I had never seen him react that way to anything I had done before of course it was all theoretical until a month later he took me to a lab and told me to build it into a bomb for a test run. He said it was all theoretical and it would be a shame if I didn't test it to see what real damage it could do. He bought all the raw materials and I built it. I built a small remote control rocket, I put the chemical into a small container, just an ounce of it and then I added a small detonator, the chemical is so dense that scanners aren't able to penetrate it so if you had a jar of the chemical and dropped metal in it and then walked through a metal detector, the detector wouldn't be able to sense the metal inside the chemical, that was a bonus, my dad liked that. He took me to the middle of nowhere along with six men and a woman who at the time I didn't know it but they were there to see how well it worked and then place their bid. I flew the rocket into an empty warehouse filled with junk and dropped the chemical and detonated it."

"And what happened?" Asked Fitz.

"It was so much more dangerous than I had thought. It turned the entire warehouse and 250 feet of the forest around it into ash without a sound, it completely eviscerated everything and it was barely an ounce of fluid. It was quiet and it was deadly. His buyers of course, were absolutely amazed and started bidding immediately. Russia, America, Iran, North Korea, Japan, Germany and China were all bidding. He never told me who won the bid or for how much but he wanted me to create more but I couldn't, I couldn't create something that I knew had the potential to kill millions of people, that's not me even if I was a stupid kid. He tried to take my research but I wrote it in so many different languages and codes and really bad cursive that it wasn't exactly legible. After that, I wasn't his daughter, I was just someone standing between him and all the money and power that he craved. I destroyed the research but that didn't deter him considering the fact that it was all in my head, he tried buying the materials again and getting other scientist to try to build it but they didn't have the formula, they didn't know how, they didn't even know how I did it the first time."

"So there is no more of his chemical left? You never actually sold this bomb?"

"No, Mr. President, I had only made a sample and I used the entire sample in the test run. There is none left, not even a drop. After that, I never really spoke to my father, he told me I was worthless and pathetic and an embarrassment to him and he sent me back to school. Eventually I got a part job feeding ideas to a think tank research company, they paid me very handsomely, I was 18 at the time so as you can imagine, I was thrilled to be making my own money and not having to be supported by my dad."

"So that's why you hate him."

"He's a megalomaniac and a sociopath and from the minute he knew what I could do all he saw was a weapon to use to get money and power but I have to remember to thank him, if I ever see him again."

"Why?"

"If I didn't hate him so much and desperately wanted to prove that I didn't have to be a monster like him then I wouldn't have worked so hard to create the stem cell procedure."

"Thanks for telling me this,"

"Thanks for not freaking out about the whole bomb thing, not my proudest moment."

Fitz chuckled.

"Just don't let the republicans find out, they'd hang us both."

She laughed.

"They absolutely would."

"So, you can make bombs, what else can you do you terrorist?"

She laughed.

"Don't let anyone hear you say that."

"Sorry, but what else can you do? What are your talents?"

"Hmm my talents? Well I can do a perfect split. I can burp the alphabet but only after drinking a can of ginger ale. I can touch my head with my toe. I built a few robots but not high tech Artificial intelligence stuff. I'm a pretty good swimmer, I can draw and play instruments. When I was at Johns Hopkins, I met another savant who was musically talented, he had autism and couldn't speak but he did manage to teach me about 30 different compositions on the piano, all classical Mozart and Beethoven and Tchaikovsky."

Fitz chuckled.

"What are your talents, what do you like to do babe?" She asked.

"Let's see, I grew up in California in the 70's and 80's so of course I loved surfing, I still do, I just don't exactly get to do it anymore. I can play the guitar and the piano. I like golfing, sort of, I also like hiking, mountain climbing and skiing, anything that has to do with the outdoors."

"I love skiing and I learned to surf a few years ago in Hawaii even though the entire time I was afraid I was gonna get eaten by a shark, my instructor was hot though."

Fitz laughed loudly.

"What is your most prized possession? The one material thing you can't live without?" She asked.

"I honestly don't know, I don't have one thing. What about you? Let me guess, your necklace from Daniel?"

"Nope, my mom gave me a necklace when I was younger, I still have it and it's really the only thing I have from her."

"The cross pendant necklace you always wear?"

"You pay attention, I like that. What was it like having a Hollywood bombshell for a mom?"

Fitz smiled.

"When I was a kid she brought me everywhere, she took me to her movie sets and red carpet events, it was endless."

"She sounds wonderful, I've seen her movies, she was a great actress, she was hilarious."

"She was."

They were quiet for a while.

"Do you regret this?" He asked.

"Regret what?"

"You and me? I just want to make sure you're okay with everything?"

She smiled.

"I am happy okay, I am. You're wonderful and funny and most importantly you give me glorious orgasms."

Fitz laughed as she nipped his ear.

"Seriously, you make me feel things that I didn't know were possible and I'm a doctor, so think about that," she whispered.

"So I've been told multiple times," he said cockily.

She bit him on his shoulder.

"Ouch," he said with a chuckle.

"Mhm, that's what you get. It's time to wash off, we both have to leave soon."

"No, come on 10 more minutes," he protested.

"Yes, we have to go."

"Okay fine."

He stood up and then pulled her up as well. Fitz let the water out and turned on the shower then turned to face Olivia.

He held her face and kissed her under the shower.

"So, do you think you can manage another round?" he asked with a smirk.

She smiled.

"Can you?"

He leaned her against the wall and lifted her leg over his arm.

She stroked him to get him ready for her as he kissed her and gently rubbed circles around her clit to get her ready for him. He was careful not to be to forceful because he was sure she was sore from all the sex they'd had in the past 24 hours.

"Fitz, I'm ready for you baby, make love to me."

He opened her leg a little wider and Olivia angled her hips to prepare herself for his thrusts.

Fitz kept his eyes on her as entered her. He thrust back and forth in a slow steady rhythm. He could feel her tightening herself around him over and over again.

"Do you have any fucking idea how tight you are?"

She blushed as he continued to pump into her slowly and steady but with such a force that it was driving her insane. Much to her chagrin, she came way before Fitz and had to suffer through his cocky facial expressions and goading until he came as well, not that she didn't enjoy it, it was fun and funny and made her laugh and moan at the same time.

After they finished showering, they made their way out of the bathroom. Fitz went to get dressed and so did Olivia. Her hair was wet from the shower but she couldn't be bothered to blow dry it so she just wrapped it up with a towel and threw on some leggings and a sweater, something comfortable to drive for 4 hours in.

Fitz went into the kitchen to find something to eat but there was nothing, she had emptied out most of the food since no one would be there to eat it. They ordered takeout the day before, but that was finished as well.

"Hey livie?" he called from the kitchen, "I'm starving, is that cafe in the lobby open?"

"Fitz, it's like 4 in the morning, they don't open until 6."

"Damn it."

He walked back over the the living room and found her on the floor, going through her duffle bag.

"All you have is a duffle bag?"

"Yeah, I took most of my other stuff back when I went to on the 15th."

"Oh yeah right, I forgot."

He saw a garment bag on the floor.

"What's in the garment bag?"

"My dress for the awards ceremony."

"Can I see it?"

"Sure."

She opened the bag and pulled out the dress and held it up.

"Nice."

Olivia looked up at him.

"Nice?"

"Yea, it looks nice."

"Fitz, this is a Cushnie et Ochs couture dress, this fabric was imported from Italy, it's way more than nice."

"I'm sorry, I don't know anything at clothing, I just know that something looks nice."

"Who buys your clothes?"

"A personal shopper."

"I thought Mellie did."

"Nope, a personal shopper, I only know like 5 brands and that's only because that's where all my suits are from."

"Which ones."

"The regulars Ralph Lauren, Armani, Dolce and Gabbana, Brooks Brothers and Hugo Boss. I like my shoes from Salvatore Ferragamo, that's it."

"Yeah the usual rich white guy reliables."

"Shut up."

She smiled and rolled her eyes.

She finished sorting out the few things in her duffle bag. She left a box of her things as per Fitz's request.

"I'm gonna take these down to my car, I'll be back in a sec."

"I've never seen your car, can I come?"

"No, you can't. After getting away with as much as we did for the past two months, now is not the time to get caught."

"Come on, I'll throw your scarf over my face, let me come with you."

"Nope, absolutely not, I refuse."

Ten minutes later, Olivia was standing in the freight elevator heading down to the garage with two of Fitz's agents. She left Fitz in the apartment with his other guards while she went to drop her duffle in her car. It was quiet and all she could think about was the fact that she was sure his guards heard them having sex.

"Wow, well this is awkward," she said loudly.

Tom and Josh turned their faces and snickered.

After she dropped her things in her car, she headed back to her apartment and lounged around on the sofa with Fitz, bantering back and forth and before they knew it, it was time to leave.

"So this is it?" He asked.

"Yeah just for the next three months then I'll be back to you."

She stood up off the couch and so did Fitz. They were both already fully dressed, all Olivia needed to grab was her bag.

When she was all set, Fitz walked her to the door and stopped.

He lifted her into the air and hugged her tightly. He held on to her for a long time before letting her go.

"Please be careful Olivia, you are precious to me, you are important to me, I love you, so have fun and be safe okay."

She smiled.

"I love you too. I'm gonna miss you, I'm gonna miss your penis even more but that's besides the point."

He laughed and grabbed her face for a kiss.

"If this is what we're doing then I'm gonna miss you too and the otherworldly blow job you gave me yesterday, I mean seriously I thought it was gonna be a long three months before…"

She smiled.

"Yes we'll sit tight because when I come back, I'm gonna suck your dick so hard it's gonna bring tears to eyes."

Fitz raised his eyebrow.

"Wow, you are just an unapologetic tease aren't you."

"I wouldn't be me if I didn't make these next three months for you absolute hell."

He smiled and kissed her again and again and again and then hugged her one last time.

"Goodbye Livie."

She smiled.

"Goodbye Fitz."


	17. Chapter 17

Olivia sat in the airport waiting area with Abby, boarding commenced in 15 minutes. She knew the guards Fitz sent would be showing up any minute so she decided to break it to Abby, she was sure she would have questions.

"Abby, I hired security for this trip."

"Why?"

"I just didn't think it would hurt to have security."

Abby eyed her skeptically.

"For three months, that's a lot of money."

"Abby, I don't live paycheck to paycheck, I think I'll be fine."

"Alright…"

Olivia's phone rang, it was Fitz.

"Hi."

"Hey Liv, are the guys there as yet?"

"No, not yet."

"They should be there in a couple of minutes. What's up, when do you board your flight?"

"In 13 minutes."

"It's not too late to change your mind, you really don't have to go," he whined.

"Oh quit being a big baby."

Olivia looked over and saw the clothed men walking towards her.

"The guys are here, I've got to go."

"Fine but when I call, you back better pick up."

"Sir, do you realize that I'm gonna be halfway around the world and most of the time, I'll be in rural areas and I might not have reception right?"

"Did you just call me sir?"

"Yeah you can chastise me out about it later, the guys are 10 feet away. Gotta go."

When the gentlemen walked up, Olivia introduced herself, Abby did the same and shortly after the introduction, the boarding began.

Olivia and Abby had booked seats in first class, since he guards had to book their tickets in such short notice, they were in coach.

It had been a long day for Olivia, between staying up all night having sex with Fitz (not that she was complaining) and the 4 hours drive to New York then the running around all day , she was exhausted. She got her sleeping mask and pillow ready and made herself comfortable. She was waiting until after takeoff to sleep. Abby sat at the seat next to her, watching her. She noticed a few things that were different about her and decided to call them out.

"What's going on with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean your different. You're glowing but you're different."

"I'm not different Abby, I'm just happy."

"So you weren't happy before?"

"I was but this is a different kind of happy."

"Let me guess, Keith?"

"Not completely but yes."

"It's just weird."

"Why?"

"You seem to really like him and he's the big part of your life but I've never met him before, I haven't even seen a picture, you used to tell me everything."

Olivia sighed.

"Abby, I've told you how I felt about him."

"Did you guys have sex as yet, you have this weird glow, I think you guys had sex."

Olivia rolled her eyes.

"We did it."

Abby smiled.

"You did 'it'?"

"Yes, we had sex and I told him I love him. You happy, goodnight, I'm tired."

"Woah, details Olivia, I want details."

"Abby I'm tired," she whined.

"I'm not letting you sleep till you tell me what's going on."

Olivia sat up and faced Abby.

"What do you want to know?"

"How did it happen? The sex, the 'I love you', tell me."

Olivia smiled.

"He came over on Saturday night, we got into a weird fight that wasn't really a fight but I'm not going to get into details-"

"Oh but the details are the best part..." Abby whined.

"Focus Lucretia, focus. Anyways. I told him I loved him and he reciprocated and then we had sex."

"Wow, how was the sex?"

"There are no words."

Abby squealed.

"Okay...details!"

"What more details do you want?"

"Is he big?"

"He filled me up, that's all you need to know."

"Ahh, you guys did it more than once."

"We had sex on Saturday night, all day Sunday and Monday morning in the shower before I left. He did things to me Abby, he made me feel things I didn't even know I could feel, disgusting, toe curling things, crying out for the lord even though I'm an atheist things that I'm not gonna tell you about."

Abby smiled.

"So that's why you love him, because the sex is great."

"No, I told him I loved him before we had sex. I don't know, I never thought love was something I was interested in but with him I don't think I could've helped it. I don't even know when I fell in love with him, I just sort of looked at him one day when he was smiling at me and that's when I realized it."

"Wow, you are whipped,"

Olivia smiled.

"I am, I totally am, he's amazing, he's funny, he's smart, he strong but not in the masculine testosterone driven way and he's kind and thoughtful and I'm madly in love him, he's the love of my life, I suppose 31 years old isn't a bad time to meet your first love,"

"Why are you hiding him though, is he ugly, I won't judge. Maybe he's short, is he? Is he, is he a republican?"

Olivia laughed.

"He is not short, he's 6'3 and he's got a great ass and a body to die for and he's not ugly either, he's very handsome and charming."

"Ahh I'm so excited for you, you're in love for the first time, how does it feel?"

"It's exciting, I can't stop thinking about him, just butterflies and warmness throughout my body."

"Awww."

"Alright Abby, I'm going to bed, I'm really tired."

"Did you blow him?"

Olivia sighed.

"I did and I pulled out the big guns too, I'm sure I changed his life,"

"I love it when you get all cocky," Abby said with a chuckle, "did he, you know, reciprocate?"

"He did."

Abby blinked rapidly, signaling to Olivia to go on.

"I'm not giving you details about him going down on me."

"God you're annoying, just tell me."

Olivia threw her hands up.

"Goodnight Abby."

Abby chuckled.

"Goodnight Liv."

She made herself comfortable and 5 minutes later, once they took off, she fell asleep.

Olivia woke up an hour before landing. Abby was snoring beside her and she nudged her and woke her up so she could get her herself ready before landing. She stretched and yawned and went to be use the bathroom. Once she was done, she sat in the seat and listened to music as she waited for the plane to descend.

Mumbai was hot and night lights filled the streets. She stepped out of the airport with Abby and her two guards in tow. They had a car waiting to take them to the hotel. The streets of Mumbai were lined with vendors selling food and clothing. There was music in the air and the honking of cars, trying to get through the crowds of people moving through the streets. She decided to call Fitz to let him know she landed, it was almost midday in D.C.

"Livie, finally."

"Yes, I landed not too long, wait, you knew that didn't you."

"Of course, I told them to call me when you landed."

"Of course but we're headed to the hotel right now, it's so beautiful here and warm. Do you hear the music in the background?"

"Yes,"

He said with a chuckle.

"I'm glad your okay, call me when you get to the hotel, I'm heading to the press room, I have to make an announcement."

"Okay, later."

They arrived at the hotel shortly after. Olivia stepped out of the car and waited for the bellhop to remove her luggage from the car. The Royal Indian hotel was beautiful, the walls were covered with mosaics, it was all very Arabian nights themed. The bellhop escorted her and Abby to their double room where they began unpacking a few things and preparing for the day ahead, they were going sightseeing and shopping in the Mumbai market place.

Fitz finished his press conference and made his way back to the Oval Office. He had his secretary buff his schedule to make sure he was going to be excessively busy in the coming months. He made sure he had a full day for everyday that was to come. He sat reading through a security briefing when he had an idea but he was going to need help so naturally, he went to his go to person.

"Tom?"

Tom walked in shortly after the call.

"Sir?"

"Can you find out if Olivia has social media: Facebook, Twitter anything else?"

"She does sir."

Fitz looked up.

"How do you know that?"

"Sir, it is our job to keep you safe…"

"You guys vetted her?"

Tom nodded.

"What's she on "

"She has a personal account on Facebook and Twitter, she has a website for her office in New York."

"Do you have social media Tom?"

"Yes sir I do."

"Can I borrow your phone, I don't have social media so I don't think I'll be able to see her profile from my laptop."

Tom pulled out his iPhone and entered the passcode and pulled up Olivia's Facebook page.

"Thank you Tom,"

Fitz leaned back in his chair and scrolled down her page. He immediately went to photos. The last was from before the shooting. Olivia was wearing a black sports bra and black capri leggings and sneakers. She was hugging a red head who was wearing the same thing but they had pink Susan G. Komen breast cancer bands and hats on. They seemed to be in Central Park at a breast cancer walk. It made him smile. The next picture he saw was of her more than a year earlier in Ethiopia based on the location tagged in the picture, she was wearing a doctor without borders t shirt with a stethoscope around her neck. She was stooping on the ground beside a group of Ethiopian girls, they all looked to be between 3 and 8 years old and they were all smiling widely for the picture. He scrolled down further and saw a picture of her in front of a Tibetan monastery, it was on the side of a cliff, the pillars were gold and the walls were painted red. She had on a hiking outfit and a backpack, she was smiling widely and held out her hands out as if she was musing at the beautiful structure behind her. Then he found another picture of her surfing and another picture of her petting a bengal tiger as if the tiger was a common household cat. She was definitely an adventurer and she looked so happy in the pictures but unfortunately for Fitz there weren't many pictures, only 7 pictures in total.

"Tom, doesn't she have more pictures? What about Twitter?"

"Yes but that's all you can access from my profile, we aren't friends so you can't see anymore but our tech guys can access all her pictures if you want, I've seen them she had a lot more."

"Okay, have them work on it for me and let me know when it's done."

He handed Tom his phone and Tom made his exit.

Olivia and Abby readied themselves to go out to the market place. They had to be mindful about how they dressed in India, Olivia wore an off the shoulder, ruffled chiffon maxi dress in a rich orange color with strappy sandals. Abby wore a cotton, forest green maxi dress and brown sandals. They stopped at an hotel cafe and grabbed breakfast before heading out to the market. The market was filled with vendors, lined on the street, shouting out the products that they were selling. The sounds of drums and singing and chanting also filled the air. They walked through the market, talking pictures and looking around at all the produce. As they passed through the market and hit the main road, there was a man walking around selling rides on an elephant. The elephant was dressed in a red jeweled cloth thrown over it's back, there were jewels going down the snout, it looked as if it was about to march in a parade.

"Abby, I'm gonna ride that elephant, take a picture."

She handed Abby her phone and crossed the street to the man with the elephant.

"Namaste," she said in Hindi as she gave him a namaskar.

The man realized she was a tourist and replied in English.

"Hello, I'm Rajeek."

Olivia smiled.

"I'd like to ride the elephant, how much?"

"500 rupees."

"Theek hai," she said which was Hindi for thank you.

She paid him and waited as he prepared her to go on the elephant. She climbed up and sat on top of the elephant. She posed for Abby to take a picture.

"Abby, get my good side," she shouted.

Abby snapped a couple of pictures and then watched as Olivia rode the elephant down the street. She came back a short while later and descended elephant.

"Do you want to ride?"

"Hell no," Abby said as if it was the most outrageous question ever.

"Okay, I want to buy a saree and some jewelry, let's go."

As they walked around shopping, Fitz called.

"Namaste."

"It's really noisy, where are you?"

"I'm in the market, I just rode a gorgeous elephant name Pi and now I'm buying jewelry, what are you doing?"

"In the oval working."

"It's late, why are you still working?"

"Keeping myself busy is necessary to not going crazy while you're gone."

"Is your laptop close?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I'm gonna send you some pictures. Sit tight."

She kept him on the line and emailed him two pictures.

"You should be getting in a few seconds, depending on how strong your wifi is."

"Okay, I'm pulling up my email right now."

She stayed on the line and waited until he got the images. Once Fitz received the email, he opened it the pictures and smiled.

"These pictures should be on the cover of a travel magazine, an elephant Liv, really?."

She chuckled.

"It was very fun, I'll send you more when I can but right now, I have to go."

"Wait."

"Yeah?"

"What are you wearing?"

"You know what I'm wearing, I can't with you, goodbye."

He chuckled.

"Bye."

The next evening…

The neurological award conference was set to begin in 2 hours. Olivia and Abby helped ready each other by curling each other's hair and fixing each other's makeup. Once they were dressed and ready, they headed to the car downstairs and rode to the conference.

When they arrived at the event, they did the usual meet and greet and several people pulled Olivia to the side to take photos with her because after all, she was the star of the show. She was considered royalty among medicinal scholars and scientist alike because of all of the groundbreaking work she'd done in such a short span of years. She was one of the youngest but most accomplished neurologist there.

The dining portion of the event began, they all sat and ate the four course meal and listened to the smooth jazz music that filled the ballroom and the sound of chatter in between tables. Once the dining portion was over, the awards segment began. Several speakers took the stage and made their remarks and then awards began to roll out. Olivia's award was the last of the night. To her surprise Daniel walked out from behind a screen to the stage and began speaking in his thick French accent.

"Good night everyone, I'm here to honor someone I have known for many years, a very special, very smart, very compassionate woman, did I mention beautiful."

The crowd laughed.

"I have watched Olivia Pope defy everything we think we know about the human body, how it works and what it is capable of. Her advancement of stem cell research has catapulted us eons into the future and that ladies and gentlemen is what we ought to celebrate tonight. Please welcome the recipient of the outstanding visionary award Olivia Pope to the stage."

The crowd stood up and applauded as she walked to the stage. Daniel gave her a kiss on the cheek and presented her with her award and stood back to give her space to make her speech. At the end of her rather short speech, Daniel walked her back to her seat and shortly afterwards the event was over. He lingered around her.

"Mon Cherie Olivia, you look absolutely beautiful? Your speech was magnifique."

"Thank you Daniel, I didn't know you were coming today."

"I wasn't invited, I asked to present this award to you."

"That was very sweet of you, merci."

"It was the least I could do for a dear friend," he said with a smile and took her hand in his and kissed it.

He had a suggestive undertone and she was sure she knew where this conversation was headed so she wanted to try and end it but he was her friend so she didn't want to ruin their relationship, so she wanted to tread carefully with her words. He was very sweet but he was relentless in his pursuit of her.

"Well thank you for coming I was honestly pleasantly surprised, Abby and I have to head back to the hotel, we have a late flight to Agra,"

"The Taj Mahal, you were always so fascinated with that mausoleum."

She chuckled.

"Well, we have to get going but it was so nice to see. Au Revoir."

"Au revoir Olivia."

He gave her a hug and another kiss on the cheek and with that Olivia left.


	18. Chapter 18

Fitz flipped through the images from the award event. He was annoyed that Olivia didn't tell him that Daniel was going to be there, he spoke to her right after she left the event and she completely left it out. He decided to call her and give her crap about it. He wasn't sure if she would even pick up because by now, it was early morning for her but he decided to try and the second she picked up, he began grilling her.

"Why didn't you tell me Daniel Benancourt was at the event last night?"

"It wasn't important."

"Oh please, you've been talking about this event for weeks and you forgot to mentioned he was going to be presenting the award to you, he kissed you on the cheek about one hundred and fifty seven thousand fucking times."

"That's a very specific number and I don't forget things, he actually wasn't invited, he asked the board to come and present the award to me and they allowed him. There were like three cheek kisses and a hug, that's it."

"Does he want you back?"

"Of course he wants me back, hello it's me we're talking about here,"

Fitz chuckled.

"I don't like seeing you with other people."

"That's funny because you have a wife so if we're talking about other people…"

"I'm getting a divorce, you know that."

"But yet, you aren't divorced right now so…maybe I should go jump on Daniel's face."

"The only face you're jumping on is mine. Can we change the subject, where are you?"

She chuckled.

"I guess I've won this argument."

Fitz rolled his eyes.

"Where are you?"

"I am in Agra, we landed a little while ago, we're on our way to the hotel right now then we're gonna take a little nap, re energize then to the Taj Mahal after. I'll send you pictures, I'll be wearing a lehenga choli ."

"That's like a saree right?"

"Sort of, less formal."

"I can't wait, I think it's starting to sink in that you're gone, I'm not looking forward to the weeks to come."

"I know, I miss you too. I miss kissing you."

"Oh god Olivia, don't take me to that place, please I'm begging you."

"Okay fine, I'll let you live this time but next time you call me I'm gonna make you suffer."

"I look forward to it."

"I'm sure you do. I'm gonna have to go, call me in the morning when you wake up."

"Okay, I love you, I'll talk to you later."

"Love you too handsome, bye."

Olivia hung up.

"I'm tired of you and him, I need my own man," Abby said nonchalantly.

Olivia laughed.

"He's annoyed that Daniel was at the event."

"Really, he's the jealous type, that's hot."

"I think he's bored, that's the only reason he's taking issue with Daniel being there."

Olivia looked through the window and recognized the familiar scenery from her last visit to Agra. They arrived at the hotel after a quick drive. As soon as Olivia entered her room, she fell on the bed and slept.

Around 2 in the afternoon, they began getting ready to go the the Taj Mahal. Olivia wore a red and gold two piece embellished lehenga choli which is a traditional indian two piece garment consisting of a midriff baring top and a long skirt and she threw a embellished scarf over her arms. She had a stack of brackets lining both arms and a red and gold necklace as well as a gold tikka headpiece with red gems. She looked ethereal. Abby wore the exact same thing in emerald green, her favorite color.

The ride to the Taj Mahal was quick. They walked the pavilion taking pictures and marveling at the beauty of the mausoleum. Olivia never got tired of it. After hours of walking and exploring, they bought food from a street vendor and brought it back to the hotel to eat.

Fitz sat the resolute desk looking through the pictures Olivia sent from the Taj Mahal. She looked beautiful and more importantly she looked happy in her red and gold outfit. She was covered in jewels and stood directly in front of pool with the actual structure of the Taj Mahal directly behind her. She oddly made him feel as if he was missing out on life. He'd had a fortunate life, private planes, private islands, the best of everything but somehow that didn't compare. He spent a few minutes gazing at the pictures before closing his laptop and beginning his day.

He had scheduled a phone meeting with his lawyer to discuss further steps they could take in regards to Mellie. He had a private investigator digging into Mellie because at this point, threatening to air her dirty laundry was the only way he could think of getting her to sign. He'd been trying to find other ways, he didn't think she'd take his threat of exposure seriously because she knew him, she was Gerry's mother and if airing her secret would hurt Gerry in the long run then she knew he wouldn't do it but he figured it wouldn't hurt to threaten and see if she'd fold but he needed to know what secrets she was hiding in the first place.

He had Lauren call his lawyer and then put the call through to him.

"Tim, how's it going?"

"Good mr. President, I can't complain."

"Great, any progress with Mellie?"

"No, none, I've pulled out all the big guns and she won't budge and her lawyer won't budge either. She's adamant that she's not signing under any condition."

"I figured but I still thought I'd give it try. Put the pause button on negotiating with her lawyer, I'm going to try another approach and I'll let you know how that works out. As for assets, I was willing to give her 50% but she's being difficult so dial it back to 15% and let her lawyer know that the generous 50% offer is no longer on the table."

"I will begin drafting that once we are done speaking."

"Thanks Tim, take care of yourself."

"You too Mr. President."

Cyrus walked in the room the moment Fitz hung up.

"Morning Cyrus."

"Morning Mr. President,"

"What's the public saying about the divorce this week?"

"The more time passes, the more they get used to idea and the less they care."

Fitz smiled.

"Wait? That's what you planned all along isn't it?" Cyrus asked.

"Now, when I walk I into the press and announce my divorce, it won't be a shock to anyone because it's been circulating for months and people won't care because they saw it coming."

"You can't announce it right now."

"No, not today, I'm having my lawyer redraft some papers. Since Mellie is being difficult, I'm gonna start being difficult too."

"Fitz, this divorce may lose you a second term. You really need to think about this."

"Then so be it, I've made up my find Cyrus, you can either help me do this and make sure this plays out smoothly for me or you can stop complaining and let me do it myself. Either way, it's happening, so make a choice and let me know."

Cyrus sighed.

"I'll help you."

"Thank you, finally, what I want for a change."

"Well, I don't really have another choice, we can't have you burning bridges with our constituents with this whole divorce spectacle."

"My thoughts exactly."

Cyrus left a little later and Fitz decided to call Olivia before he began his day. The time difference was so drastic that it limited the window of time he had to call her during the day.

"Liv?"

He could hear slow chanting in the background.

"Hey Hun."

"What's that in the background I hear?"

"Well we're at the festival of punjab, we walked the street down to the promenade and were at a river ceremony, they lit thousands of candles and they're floating down the river, there are thousands of roses in every color everywhere, it's beautiful. The chanting you hear, is a mantra. I'm gonna send you pictures."

"Your pictures are making me miss you more."

"Do you want me to not send you pictures?"

"No, of course not, I just, I miss you that's all."

"I miss you too, hop on a plane and come march in the festival with us, I'm sure no one will recognize you."

"Not funny, I actually really wish I could do that.'

"I know, me too."

"Liv, look at this, you have to get a picture of this," Abby interjected.

Olivia turned around and looked.

"Oh my god Fitz, I have to get a picture, I have to go."

"No, no, it's fine, go,"

"Love you, bye."

She hung up quickly and started snapped pictures of the group of girls dancing in their colorful red, pink, orange and yellow outfits.

Olivia and Abby danced along with the procession into the night. They wore rose crowns that they bought from a street vendor. They stopped to take a picture with a group of men painted as tigers and Olivia realized how convenient it was to have two men following her everywhere because they served as great photographers if nothing else. They partied until the wee hours of the morning before heading back to their hotel absolutely exhausted.

They slept till almost afternoon, waking up just around 11:30am. Even though Olivia was awake, she didn't move from her spot on the bed. Abby, however got up and went to freshen up.

Olivia took the time to send Fitz pictures from the festival last night. She really did wish that he could be there, traveling with her but she knew it was a waste of time and energy to dwell on what couldn't be so she told herself of get over it. She looked forward to her trip to Bali, she was going to spend two days at an Indonesian resort. Their flight was set for 11pm in the night and also had one stop at the Mumbai international airport where they would board an international flight to Bali and that flight would last another 10 hours.

Once she found the resolve to get out of bed, she showered and began packing her things for her late night flight. Once they were finished packing, they went out for lunch. After lunch, they went back to the hotel and lounged for hours until their car came to drop them to the airport. They took a 1 hour flight from Agra to Mumbai, they waited an hour to board their flight on Air India from Mumbai to Bali. They managed to get to their hotel in Bali just before 3pm to check in.

They Sura Lagoon hotel was gorgeous. The villas were made of dark wood with wide glass screens that allowed a view to the ocean. They aura was warm, with low lit lamps lining the infinity pool that went out the ocean. The sand was white and the water was clear and palm trees lined the beach.

"Abby this is so much more beautiful than the pictures online. I love it," Olivia gushed as she walked to their villa.

"And it's only $200 per night, I call that a win," Abby chuckled.

"I'm spending all night on this beach, I'm just gonna go put my bathing suit on and lay on the beach drinking margaritas till I fall asleep."

"Here, here to that."

They went to their villa and changed into their bathing suits. Olivia wore a white string bikini that didn't fully cover her ass, it was one of her more provocative swimsuits. Abby wore a red backless monokini.

They went to the bar to get drinks before taking their spots on the beach sunbeds.

As she laid on the beach and looked out to the horizon, she felt the need to call Fitz the only problem was that Bali was 13 hours ahead of D.C. time. It was just after three in the morning in Washington but she decided to call him anyways. She dialed his number and waited for him to pick up. It almost went to voicemail before he picked up.

"Livie is everything alright? Are you okay?" His voice was raspy and he sounded worried.

"No, I'm fine, I'm totally fine. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to give you a fright,"

She heard him chuckle.

"Can you start with that next time?"

"Hey, you didn't even let me say hello."

Fitz sat up in bed.

"So, what are you doing?"

"I'm lying in the beach right now and I just missed you, wanted to hear your voice. How was your day?"

He smiled.

"Busy, I spent the entire morning on the hill and then the afternoon on the phone with prime minister of England, then Germany then the president of France, this is all very boring and I'm sure your day was much better."

"Honestly, it was."

Fitz laughed.

"You said you're lying on the beach, what are you wearing?"

"I'm wearing a white string bikini, it shows a lot of ass."

"Nice, masturbating material, I'm visualizing right now. Please tell me you took pictures."

"I did, I'll send them to you in the morning."

"Your morning or my morning?"

"My night, your morning."

"Okay, how's Bali, how do you like it?"

"It's gorgeous here, seriously I'm just taking it all in, the sand is white and the water is clear and it's comfortably warm right now. I wish you were here right now, I know you'd love it. A little sun would do you some good, you know I'd like to see you laid out on the beach soaking up sun, in your swim trunks and sunglasses with a cold beer in your hand."

"You're not helping right now you know, you're making me miss somewhere that I've never even seen before."

"Quit complaining, how's Gerry?"

"He's good, he's sort of but not really dating this girl named Kenna, he wants her to join our Saturday morning jog next week, he's whipped and he also scored a touchdown two days ago at his football game so he was really excited about that."

"Aww Gerry has a girlfriend."

"I think he wants that but he's afraid to ask, he's really shy, I don't know where he got that from because it's not from me."

"You are shy in some things, less shy in others."

"Don't take me there Olivia, I've been getting wet dreams thinking about you, let me live this one night."

"No, I miss you too much, I can't stop thinking about you and if I have to suffer you have to suffer."

"Hey, I'm suffering too, I'm the president and I have to kick people out of the Oval Office because I'm getting erections thinking about you in the middle of meetings, if that's not what you call suffering, I don't know what is."

Olivia chuckled.

"Fine, you win."

She sighed.

"Well I'm sure you have a busy day ahead of you and I want you to rest so I'll talk to you soon. I love you."

"I love you too Livie, I'll talk to you soon wait-"

"Yes?"

"How have the headaches been?"

"They come and go, I got one on the plane on my way here but it wasn't that bad."

He sighed.

"Okay, just be careful okay."

"Okay, I love you."

"Love you too. bye."


	19. Chapter 19

Fitz flipped through the photos Olivia sent him and in her usual teasing fashion they were just the right amount of sexy to light his skin in fire. He guested that Abby must've been the one taking the pictures. It was taken from behind, she stood facing the horizon, she had sand all over her ass and her curly brown and black hair flowed down her back.

He closed out the pictures and leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

"Must you?" He thought to himself.

He had no idea why she was such a tease, she knew pictures like that would unhinge him but she sent them anyways because she was horrible and an absolute tease but she was also beautiful, strong and funny and he was proud to admit he was obsessed. He tried to shake the thoughts of her from his head and went back to work.

Back in the residence, Mellie and big Gerry went at it in the sit room.

"You need to figure something out Gerry because he redrafted the divorce papers and Cyrus said he's threatening to go public."

"I'm handling it okay maybe if you tried on your part this would be easier."

"I'm telling you this is because of Olivia Pope, it has to be. I'm a woman, I felt it in that room with them, something is going on."

"I'm telling you it's not, don't worry about that, worry about how you are going to keep your man because this divorce isn't happening, not if it's going to cost him a second term so there are some things on your end that you should be doing to make sure this doesn't happen."

"Like what, like spreading my legs for him even though he's made it clear that he doesn't want me. I tried for years, I loved him but he never loved me. I don't want a divorce obviously but I don't know if not signing will be enough to stop this thing. Cyrus said he's ready to announce it, he's been delaying him but you know Cyrus, he's going to side with Fitz, if he really wants this divorce, he'll try to talk him out of it but if it doesn't work he'll side with Fitz and I'll be left in the dust and if that happens, I'll bring Fitz down with me."

Gerry stepped in her face.

"Do not threaten my son in my presence. Are we clear?"

Mellie huffed.

"Have I ever told you how much I despise you. Just get him to drop this so we can all go back to being the happy first family and I'll be fine."

"I'm working on it."

After spending two glorious days in Bali, Olivia and Abby headed to Dubai. They had a room reserved in the Armani hotel located inside the Burj Khalifa. The rooms were beautiful and the view was breathtaking but they decided not to stay inside and gaze. They were tired from a 12 hour flight but they only had a day and a half in Dubai before they had to go to Iran for official Doctors Without Borders business so they thought that they might as well make the best of their time in Dubai. They dropped off their luggage in the suite and then went out for lunch at a local restaurant that was a few blocks away from the hotel.

After lunch they went on a helicopter ride over the city that Olivia had booked online. The helicopter ride was exciting and gave them an eyeful, they saw the man made world islands in the ocean and the beautiful building and landmarks underneath them. They were back at the hotel in the evening, tired from all the traveling and excitement for the past two weeks. They spent the rest of the night lounging around and watching tv. Olivia waited until Abby was asleep then went up to skylight deck on the 125th floor. It was a cool night, the second she stepped out on the deck she felt a little chilly. She wrapped her scarf a little tighter around her body, pulled out her phone and dialed Fitz.

"Livie, it's about time you called."

She smiled.

"Where are you?"

"I'm in the oval."

"Are you all alone?"

"Yes."

"Are you expecting anyone?"

"Not for a while."

She took a deep breath and walked over to the railing.

"I want you to lean back in your chair and close your eyes."

"Why?"

"Just do it," she said with a chuckle.

He obeyed and leaned back and closed his eyes.

"Done."

"The first time I saw you, I was actually a little scared that I wouldn't be able to save you and then I thought about how tragic it would've been for the world to lose someone like you. Not that I knew you personally at the time; I just thought 'wow he's so much fun to look at, he probably shouldn't die,'."

Fitz smiled.

"It was absurdly superficial, I know but that was before I got to know the real you."

"The real me?"

"Yes, the sweet, smart, strong, compassionate, thoughtful and funny you."

She paused and smiled.

"Remember after the first time we made love, when you wrapped me in your arms and you held onto me so tight-"

Olivia paused and closed her eyes.

"I felt so safe and -"

She paused.

"And what Livie?"

"Loved," she said as she held back tears.

He could hear the sniffles through the phone.

"Are you crying?"

She chuckled.

"There are a multitude of emotions your can express through tears, happiness is one of them you know."

She paused again.

"I know that we've moved pretty fast - I mean I've known you for three months and it feels like I've known you my entire life. I know your working on your divorce- and I just want to make sure that you don't regret anything. I want to make sure that we're on the same page."

"Olivia, the only thing I regret is that I wasn't divorced when I met you. I want you to know that I didn't fall for you because I thought you were hot, I fell for you because you are an amazing woman, you're selfless and courageous and beautiful inside and out and as soon as I my divorce is final, I'm going wine and dine you and treat you like the queen you are and then once I think you're ready to marry me, I'm going to propose to you and then if you want we could have a couple of babies and then we could move to Connecticut or Vermont or even Bali, I don't care where we are or what we do, as long as I'm with you and as long as you're happy. I'm assuming that before all these things happen you don't realize your too good for me and kick me to the curb."

Olivia chuckled.

"I love you."

"I love you too Olivia Pope."

She smiled.

"Guess where I am?"

"Where?"

"I am on the skylight deck on the 125th floor at my hotel. The night is so clear I feel like I could reach out and touch the stars."

"Mhm and I'm sure being the know it all you are, you could name those stars," he goaded.

"I could. Let's see, hmm - I see Ursula, Ankaa, Atik, Bellatrix and Alula, not all of the stars have names but the ones that do have really cool ones. The names are mostly Latin and Arabic."

"Shit, I learn something everyday with you."

"You know what's funny? I actually called you to have phone sex but it went south once I had you on the phone."

"It's not too late, I didn't want to tell you this but I have something brewing in my pants."

"Well take him out and let's if he wants to play."

Fitz chuckled mischievously at her cheekiness.

"He always wants to play."

"Unzip your pants."

Fitz did as he was told.

"Liv I don't have any lube-"

"You'll be fine, you're circumcised. I actually think if you be really hot if you use your spit."

Fitz did as he was told.

Since there was no one else in the deck, Olivia walked over to the sunbed and laid down. She spread her legs open, reached under her shirt and touched her breasts.

"Are your eyes still closed?" She asked.

"Yes," he said as stroked himself.

"Imagine me naked on top of you. Remember how it feels to be inside me, how tight I grip you. Think about how my lips feel, how they taste."

"Are you touching yourself?"

"Yes, I'm outside, someone's definitely gonna see me,"

"I wanna see you,"

"Shh, visualize,"

Olivia moaned as she rubbed her clit and Fitz stroked himself to the sound of her moans. They came together.

"Woah," she said with a chuckle.

Fitz was out of breath on his end but managed to get up and go to his private bathroom to clean up.

"Are you still alive?" She teased.

"Shut up."

When he finished cleaning up he went back to his desk.

"We have to do this more often."

"Woah, I'll officially be off vacation tomorrow, you'll be lucky if you get it again, at all."

"Oh come on…"

Cyrus walked into the office.

"Sir-"

"I'm on a very important call right now right Cy,"

"No, Fitz it's okay, I'll call you when I arrive in Tehran."

"Alright, I'll talk to you later."

After she hung up, she stayed on the deck, looking up at the stars and going over her and Fitz's conversation in her head.

The next morning, Olivia and Abby decided to stay in. They ordered room service and lounged in the room for hours. That wasn't the plan but they were so tired that they abandoned their plans to go shopping in the city mall. They had a late afternoon flight from Dubai to Tehran via Qatar airways. They landed in Tehran around 9pm. They made sure their hair was covered and their arms and legs were as well. They took a taxi to the Tehran DWB center and began their check in. After check in, they went to the great hall, which was just a big room with a lot of beds. It wasn't comfortable or allowed for privacy but it was livable. They would be spending a week in Iran, two days at the center then traveling to the more rural part of Iran to two villages then they would go back to the center to leave for the Tehran airport to Somalia. Once they dropped all their luggage by their assigned beds, they went back to the auditorium to socialize with the other doctors. Olivia was the superstar there, everyone wanted to chat with her. She saw a long time colleague with whom she'd done several missions in Africa with and went over to greet her.

"Siobhan?"

Siobhan was an Irish - American doctor that had been working with DWB for about two years. She had very pale skin and brunette hair with a very visible birthmark that covered most of her neck. She was an ob/gyn.

"Liv. How the hell are ya?"

She hugged Olivia.

"I'm great actually, how are you "

"I'm good, ready to get back out there."

"Aw man me too, it's been too long since we've gotten our hands dirty and I mean that quite literally."

Olivia turned to Abby.

"You remember Abby, my partner in crime, the ying to my yang etcetera."

Siobhan stretched her hand for a shake and Abby took it.

"Of course, I remember you Abby. It's nice seeing you again."

A man walked up to them.

"Liv, Siobhan? How are you guys?"

"Hi Caleb," Olivia and Siobhan said in unison.

He gave them both hugs.

"You don't keep in touch, we're not friends anymore," Olivia joked.

"My phone got stolen, I lost all my contacts."

"Mhmm and then a dragon came and bit your finger off too right?" Olivia said sarcastically.

"I'm serious, I did lose my phone."

"Well this is my friend Abby,"

"Hi Abby," Caleb greeted.

"You guys look awfully tan and glowy," Siobhan said.

Olivia flipped her hair.

"Well yes, we just took a shotgun trip across India and then to Bali and earlier we were in Dubai and boy oh boy was the sun hot."

"Damn that sounds fun, you were always the adventurous, lover of culture type, I need to be like that instead of working back to back 12 hours shifts and turning old and grey in the meantime." Siobhan said.

They bantered and reminisced about old times until it was lights out.

Olivia wanted to call Fitz just to check in, she knew the guards were giving him updates but she knew he was particularly worried about her being in Iran. She dial Fitz and laid in bed, with her sheet over her head waiting for him to pick up.

"Hey babe," she whispered.

"Where are you, why are you whispering?"

"I'm in Tehran, at the doctors without borders center, it's lights out and I don't wanna wake anyone."

"They have you all in the same room?"

"Yea, it's like 15 bunk beds in here, this isn't a 5 star hotel you know?"

"So you get no privacy right?"

"None and when we leave here and we're traveling village to village, we'll be sleeping in tents and mud houses but that's apart of the sacrifice, it's for a good cause."

"Well you make me very proud, I sure as hell couldn't be doing what your doing."

"You've been in the navy, it's sort of the same thing."

"I was special ops, I didn't socialize with local people-"

Fitz caught himself and stopped talking.

"You were special ops? I didn't know that."

"Your not suppose to know that, I shouldn't have told you that, that was a mistake,"

"It's okay, I'm not gonna say anything."

He sighed.

"I'm sorry, I know, that was weird."

She chuckled.

"It's okay," she said in a hushed tone.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm writing my speech for the western nations conference. I'm gonna be in a room full of dictators and generals, it's gonna be a dick measuring contest that I'm not looking forward."

"Well, I suppose if you guys are measuring dicks then you should be fine right?"

"What does that mean?"

He knew what it meant, he just wanted to hear her say it.

"Uh, I'm saying you have a big penis, I mean, it's symmetrical, great length and girth. It's fierce and intimidating and you know how to use it."

Fitz was laughing so loud in the phone that she had to turn down the volume on her phone so no one could hear.

"That's the funniest thing, I've heard all month. It's the way you say it, you're serious and sarcastic at the same time."

"I'm pretty fucking hilarious, aren't I?"

"You are, your really are."

"Olivia, I'm trying to sleep," Abby said as he reached over and nudged her.

"Let me guess; Abby?"

"Yeah, I have to go,"

"Good night Liv."

"Good night."

The next morning they had a 6am call time. Olivia wore cargo pants and her doctors without borders uniform t shirt and sneakers. She threw a white cloth scarf over her head. She packed her backpack with the basics, water, food, clothes, etc. They all gathered in the hall, waiting to board the bus to Baldat Attlin, a rural village in northern Iran. The drive was hours long and once they were out of Tehran, the landscape was more rural, with sheep and cattle wandering the land. It was afternoon when they reached the village. The villagers greeted them with open arms and they quickly began getting settled in to begin working on the injured villagers from a run in with a militant group but they were also doing regular check ups and vaccinations on the children and women.

Although there was a DWB translator, Olivia helped with the translation between the Iranian villagers and the doctors and aid workers while she helped her own patients.

They had a late lunch cooked by the villagers. A few of the small girls tried to teach Olivia, Siobhan, Abby and a few other doctors a traditional Iranian dance as they ate. Olivia was the first to get it and then joined them, then Abby and Siobhan. After lunch they continued working until late that night.

The next morning they continued working through the day and slept the night once again. In the early morning, they all gathered and after they told the villagers goodbye they left on the bus to the next village. They drove for a few hours till they arrived around midday.

They began the usual routine. They stored their belongings in one of the villagers house and began working.

Olivia was working on a 1 year old, giving her necessary vaccinations when Abby walked over complaining.

"Olivia these bugs are killing me."

Olivia chuckled.

"There are worse things that can kill you Abby, you'll be fine."

They both heard the sound of propellers in the air and looked up. A drone flew across the far side of the village and dropped a package, Olivia couldn't see clearly what it was.

"Run!" One of the older male villagers shouted in his heavy accent.

The guards grabbed Olivia and the one year old and ran to the direction of the woods, Abby followed. Everyone scattered for cover and waited for the inevitable explosion.

There was a loud boom and then a cloud of dust. The explosion was precise to one isolated house, it was the cloud of dust that was more so damaging. They laid in the forest until most of the dust settled and then they gathered together by the bus.

"What was that?" Olivia asked to no one in particular.

"U.S drone strike," the villager answered. He was one of the village translators.

"Does that happen often?" Abby asked.

"No here but other place yes," he said in broken english.

"Okay, well we have to help all the people who are hurt, let's go Abby."

Olivia left quickly and gave the baby she was treating back to her mother who came running over. They went to the house where the strike to place and began treating all the injured villagers. One person died, 7 were injured. They were all men. They worked tirelessly until everyone was taken care of. All the doctors were staying with different villagers, Olivia, Abby and Siobhan were in the same house. They took turns showering and then they gathered in the main room to be served dinner. After dinner they went to their room, they all shared a bed together.

Abby and Siobhan fell asleep quickly but Olivia couldn't. She hadn't heard from Fitz for a couple days because she didn't have any reception but she wondered if he knew about the drone strike. She laid staring at the ceiling until hours later she drifted off to sleep.

Fitz was in the oval when they called him to the situation room. When he walked in, everyone stood and waited for him to motion for them to sit.

"What going on ladies and gentlemen?"

"Sir there was an unauthorized drone strike by the U.S military in Iran."

"Where?"

"120 km outside of Kashan."

"If I didn't authorize this drone strike then who did?"

He could see his defense secretary take a deep breath.

"That's the thing sir, it was an accident."

"An accident?"

"Yes sir."

"How many casualties?"

"We sent a scout, there seems to have only been 1 casualty and several others injured. There was a squad of Doctors Without Borders physicians that were in the village but they haven't been harmed."

Fitz whipped his head around.

"Wait what?"

"There was a squad of Doctors Without Borders physicians in the village but they were unharmed."

"When did the strike happen?"

"26 hours ago."

"And I'm just hearing about this?" He screamed.

"Sir?"

"Dismissed. Meeting dismissed. Any more developments and I want to know the second it happens."

He pulled out his cell to call Olivia not bothering to wait until they had all left the room. There was no answer. He tried the guards and still no answer. If it happened over 24 hours ago why hadn't she called him to let him know she was okay. The defense secretary said the doctors were unharmed but he needed to hear her voice to know for sure. He kept calling Olivia and the guards and it wasn't until 5 in the morning that he got a call back from one of the guards.

"Is she okay?" He said quickly.

"Yes, sir she's okay."

"Why the hell didn't you call me as soon as it happened?"

"There was no reception sir, we tried."

"Where are you know?"

"We are back in Tehran."

"Where is she?"

"She just went inside the center, they will be leaving for Somalia soon."

"Let me speak to her."

"Okay sir, one moment."

Fitz waited until he heard the guard call Olivia.

"He wants to speak to you,"

He could hear her take the phone.

"What?"

"Why didn't you call me as soon as you got reception, do you have any idea how close I was to having a heart attack."

"Did you do that?"

"Did order a drone strike on a civilian population? No. I'm not Hitler, Olivia."

He could hear her let out a breath.

"I was going to call you, I just needed to drop my bags off."

"You aren't hurt right? They told me you weren't hurt."

"No, the little scratches I have don't compare to the guy who died or the other man who lost his leg."

"Are you angry at me?"

"No, I don't know, it's just that they were good people and it's just really sad that happened."

"I know, I ordered an investigation into how it could've happened. The defense secretary is saying it was an accident but we don't exactly get to have accidents that cost innocent people their lives."

She smiled.

"You seriously called me 34 times Fitz,"

"I was worried."

"I'm okay, seriously I am, but I'm flattered you were so worried about me."

She waited for him to respond but he never did. She could hear him breathing though.

"Fitz?"

"Come home Olivia, please. This was too close, this strike could've hurt you and it would've been my fault."

"Fitz, I made a commitment-"

"Then break it."

"I can't, you know I can't, I love you but I can't."

"I know, I just hate the fact that you are so far away."

"I know, me too, don't think about it, think about something else."

"Like what?"

"Anything else."

"Um, the state dinner is next week."

"Who will be there?"

"President of France, Diana Ross and Robert Downey jr, I know how much you love him. We have a pretty extravagant guest list this year."

"Quit lying, Iron man is gonna be there? I might have to bump this trip and come home."

"So you'll come home for Robert Downey jr but not me?"

"I absolutely would."

Fitz chuckled.

"He just got uninvited."

"You can't uninvite Iron man."

"Why not?"

"He's iron man."

Fitz laughed.

"You're right I can't."

They were quiet for a while.

"After Somalia then?"

"Then Ethiopia, Sudan and Libya."

"And that's just the first half right?"

"Yep."

He sighed.

"How about I'll come and see you after Sudan? How does that sound?"

"Wait, how are you going to get away?"

"I'm gonna lie."

He chuckled.

"Was the the plan all along?"

"Sure was."

"How about this, in a few weeks, I have to meet the president of France in Paris, I'll send the jet to pick you up and you can meet me in Paris. How does that sound?"

"Meet you in the city of love, I can't think of anything worse," she said sarcastically.

Fitz smiled.

"So it's a date then?"

"It's a date," she said with a smile.


	20. Chapter 20

Fitz sat at his desk, he wasn't exactly shocked to find that Mellie was behind the assassination the entire time but he didn't know why she would want him dead. If she hated him so much, why didn't she just leave him. He had Lauren call her and he was sure, she would be walking into the oval at any moment. He was oddly calm, the way he saw it, she handed him a get out of jail free card. It wasn't easy getting Nolan to confess, they had to do things to him that made medieval torture seem humane but it was worth it because he finally broke and confessed to everything.

He heard a hard tap on his door and looked up.

"Come in," he called.

Mellie strutted in with her head held high.

"Fitz I was in the middle of a meeting with my chief of staff,"

"Yeah because that's so important," he said sarcastically.

"Why did you call me in here?"

"Your boyfriend Nolan."

"I don't know what your talking about."

"You do Mellie, sit down, let's talk."

She walked defiantly across the room and sat beside his desk.

"Nolan told us everything. He told us you two were lovers and that you told him to kill me."

Mellie quietly stared in space for a long time before answering.

"That's not how it happened?"

"How did it happen? How did your boyfriend get the idea to kill me?"

She was surprised that he was speaking in such a normal tone, she would've thought that with what he knew, he'd be furious.

"Remember on the campaign when the whole Paul Mosley story broke?"

"Yes."

"I hired Nolan to get Paul to deny the story and it worked."

"So you two never slept together? I'm pretty sure you did because he knows details that only someone you've slept with would know."

"We did sleep together, on the campaign trail then when you became president. I never loved him, I just liked the attention he gave me but he loved me or at least he said he did. I used to vent to him about you, I told him I wished you were dead but it was just venting, I never actually meant it but he thought I was serious. I didn't see him for a few months then out of the blue he called me and told me what he was going to do, I told him that I didn't actually mean it. I thought maybe he was after money so I sent him a few million hoping he'd just take the money and go."

"Then you conveniently planned the gala where he shot me? You expect me to believe that was by chance?"

"He told me he wasn't going to do it. I tried to stop you from leaving the car because I had a feeling but I never actually knew that he was going to be there."

"So I almost died on a misunderstanding? What am I supposed to do with this Mellie? Whether or not you actually wanted me dead, they know that you paid him, they know that you two were lovers, they are pinning this on you,"

"I bet you'd love that, wouldn't you?"

"I wouldn't, this isn't about me and you Mellie. You often forget we have Gerry to think about. Do you want him to know what you did?"

Mellie looked down at her hands.

"No."

"Okay. Sign the divorce papers. I'll take care of Nolan and make sure no one finds out about your part in this. I won't hold this against you, just promise me you'll be amiable about this divorce. We can co parent Gerry, we can even be friends, I don't despise you Mellie, I just don't want to be married to you."

Mellie chuckled.

"The divorce you always wanted. Now you can finally be with Olivia Pope."

Fitz didn't bother denying it.

"After all these years of being so in love with you, you have never cared about me," Mellie said bitterly.

Fitz turned and faced her directly as he spoke.

"Mellie, you told the man you were fucking to kill me and he actually tried to and I'm telling you that I am going to ignore the fact that you tried to have me killed and start over with you, if that's not me caring for you, I don't know what is. I could never love you because you are selfish and cold. I had to beg you to have Gerry and even after he was born you practically ignored him. Don't pretend you're some woman scorned. You have just as much blame as me in this marriage."

Mellie was quiet.

"Okay but what is it about her that makes you love her but not me?"

"Mellie?"

"I saw the way you looked at her Fitz, I know you love her."

"Mellie this isn't going to help us move forward."

"I know."

She stood up and fixed her skirt.

"I have the papers in my office, I'll sign them and send them over to you."

She walked slowly to the door.

"Mellie?"

She stopped right in front of the door and turned and faced him.

"Yes Fitz?"

"I'm sorry I never loved you."

She turned around and put her hand on the doorknob but didn't open the door. Fitz wondered what she was doing.

"Mellie?"

He got up and walked over to her. As he got closer we could hear soft sobbing.

"Mellie?"

She didn't reply, she just continued crying. Fitz put his arm around her and tried to console her.

"I'm sorry for what I did Fitz, you didn't deserve that," she said through sobs.

He smiled and he was also a little shocked, Mellie wasn't one to cry.

"Every wife should try to kill her husband at least once right? The world would stop spinning otherwise," he joked lightly.

Mellie wiped her eyes and took a deep breath.

"I'll send the papers over in a minute."

He let her go.

"Okay, I'll announce before Big Gerry can start meddling."

"Okay."

Mellie left and Fitz walked back over to his desk and sat down. He was still processing what Mellie did, as much as he tried to play it off, it did hurt him but he wanted to get past it. Moments later, Mellie came back with the papers and placed them on his desk.

"Thank you," he said as he took them and placed them in his drawer.

"I think I should be by your side when you announce it, for the optics."

He was a little shocked.

"The daily press briefing starts in 5 minutes, do you want to crash it?"

Mellie shrugged.

"Why not?"

Fitz stood up and smiled.

"Let's go then."

He took her hand and led her out the office. When they got to the press room, they waited outside for Josh to finish the announcements and then they walked in.

"Mr. President? Mr. President?" The press corp screamed.

"Hey Josh, we'd like to say a few words."

Josh automatically moved from the podium to give Fitz room to speak. Fitz walked with Mellie by his side and stood in front of the podium and waited to the chatter to quiet down.

"Good afternoon everyone. You might have heard the rumors about a divorce between Mellie and I. Today we wanted to confirm that those rumors are in fact true, we have filed for a divorce. We ask that you respect this very difficult time for our family. Thank you."

With that, Fitz and Mellie left the room and as they walked they could hear the questions being fired from the reporters.

Three days later...

It was the evening of the state dinner. Fitz dressed in his Dolce and Gabbana tux and his Ferragamo loafers. He checked his appearance one last time then he put on his vintage Rolex watch and went to find Gerry.

The days since the divorce announcement had been chaotic. The speculations were running wild. Everyone had something to say, most of all Gerry who had been trying everything in his power to walk back the announcement. He leaked that Fitz and Mellie were seeking spiritual guidance from their pastor and Fitz ended up getting into a huge fight with him about the whole thing. He didn't care about any of that though, it all seemed to be noise in the background, all he cared about we what Olivia had to say and he couldn't have that because he hadn't been able to speak to her since she arrived in Somalia, she absolutely had no reception. She was leaving in a day and he hoped she would call him from the airport, just so he could know what was going on with her.

Gerry and Kenna were officially dating and he asked her to be his date to the state dinner. Fitz was glad Gerry seemed to not care about the divorce debacle, all he cared about was whether or not he looked good enough for Kenna. Fitz was the first to finish getting ready and then waited in the hall for Gerry and Mellie. He stood impatiently checking his watch every so often until he heard footsteps and he looked up to see who it was.

"Gerry?"

"Sorry, I'm late dad."

"Don't tell me sorry, tell your date sorry, if we ever get to pick her up."

"She must be so annoyed, I'm gonna call her and apologize for being late."

"You remembered to give the secret service her address right?"

"Yeah, of course."

Gerry pulled out his phone and called Kenna to let her know they would be leaving to pick her up soon. Moments after Gerry hung up, they heard Mellie walking down the hallway,

"Mom hurry, Kenna's waiting."

"Never tell a lady to hurry Gerry."

"Sorry but we have to go."

Mellie pulled out all the stops. She wore a beautiful Zac Posen purple gown, hoping Fitz would notice and to her chagrin, he didn't, which left her feeling a little disappointed.

They drove quickly, as quickly as the presidential motorcade could go to pick up Kenna and once they had her, they drove to the state dinner. Gerry couldn't keep his eyes off of Kenna, she was beautiful. She had ivory skin, long brown hair and warm brown eyes, she was tall for her age, standing at 5'8 and she wore a long blush pink gown that complimented her skin tone perfectly. Gerry held her hand protectively and kept asking her if she was okay. Fitz tried his best not to laugh at the puppy love that was brewing between the two.

At the state dinner, they lined the entrance and greeted the guests as they came, when the meet and greet was finished, they joined everyone for dinner. The dinner was boring, the band played standard jazz music. Fitz looked around the room and saw everyone on their phones or half asleep. He leaned over to Gerry and smiled, "Thank me later."

Gerry was confused.

"What do you mean dad?"

Fitz was halfway to the stage by the time Gerry realized what he was doing. Gerry watched as Fitz walked up the steps and stood on the stage. Fitz took a guitar from one of the band members.

"We're gonna change it up a little bit guys. Do you know Brown eyed girl by Van Morrison?"

"Yes sir."

Fitz smiled.

"Give me the beat."

Fitz turned and faced the audience. He could see they were confused as to what he was doing as he stepped up to the mic.

"Hello everyone, I looked around and realized that half of you were asleep and I was never one to throw a boring party and I also couldn't pass up is opportunity to embarrass my son in front of his date, so this is a two for one…"

The band started playing the intro and Fitz looked over to Gerry who turned red beside Kenna.

Fitz played his guitar into the intro and waited for his que then he started singing.

"Hey where did we go

Days when the rains came

Down in the hollow

Playin' a new game

Laughing and a running hey, hey

Skipping and a jumping

In the misty morning fog with

Our hearts a thumpin' and you

My brown eyed girl

You're my brown eyed girl…"

The crowd was up and roaring by the time he finished his first verse; laughing and applauding alike, surprised he would be bold enough to sing and play the guitar in front of everyone. When Fitz finished the song he stepped back and whispered the next song to the band. They played the intro and he flashed the crowd a smile and dove into the chorus of his next song.

"Here in your arms I found my paradise

My only chance for happiness

And if I lose you now, I think I would die

Say you'll always be my baby

We can make it shine

We can take forever just a minute at a time

More than a woman

More than a woman to me

More than a woman

More than a woman to me…"

Fitz watched as the crowd danced. He was dancing too, he turned and whispered the next song to the band then looked for Gerry in the crowd.

"Come sing with your father Gerry."

Gerry's eyes opened wide and his mouth fell open. Fitz knew Gerry needed some crowd encouragement so he started cheering his name and the crowd joined.

"Gerry, Gerry, Gerry, Gerry,"

Gerry stood up up and walked quickly to the stage. He handed Gerry the second mic even though he was sure Gerry didn't know the song but it was amusing enough to watch him frozen from embarrassment on the stage. Fitz waited for his que and then began singing. He picked this song purposely because Olivia mentioned to him how much she loved it.

"Ah, ah, ah

Never you mind if I

Don't tell strangers passing by

If I don't brag

If I don't brag or boast

Click my glass and say a toast

About my love for you

How it runs so deep and true

And yet it's so

'Cause don't you know, oh

Still waters run deep

Still waters run deep

Still waters run deep

Still waters run deep"

Eventually Gerry loosened up and began rocking back and forth with Fitz on the stage. He laughed as he watch Fitz dance and spin as if he was the lead in a 60's singing group then he sang the outro with him. Gerry found Kenna in the crowd, she was standing beside Mellie and smiling and applauding him.

Mellie had her eyes glued to Fitz the entire time. Every time she tried to convince herself he wasn't worth it, he reminded her how amazing he was. She watched in adoration as he danced and sang effortlessly. After almost 20 years of knowing him, his charisma and charm never wore off.

"Can we get some back up singers up here?" Fitz said to the crowd.

Fitz was surprised when Diana Ross made her way up to the stage. His mouth dropped open.

"You needed a backup singer Mr. president?"

"Your Diana Ross, I'll be your backup singer."

He stepped aside from the mic.

"Can you play the drums?" She asked.

He nodded.

"Give me a beat Mr. President."

The crowd roared.

Fitz went to the band and told them what song to play. He took the drummer's seat and began playing the intro to one of Diana's most famous songs, 'I'm coming out,'.

Diana sang, Fitz played the drums and Gerry played the guitar. They were electric. The crowd roared and raved into the night till the dinner was over. Then Fitz and Gerry took a bow and exited the stage.

Olivia was up at 7 in morning. They would be traveling back to the airport for a late flight. She was the last to get up from her group and she heard chatter in the living room of the house that they were staying. She walked groggily to the living room and saw all the doctors gathered around the tiny satellite TV, it was about 10 inches wide and had only three channels but it was one of the few TV's in the village.

"What's the fuss?"

Abby jumped up.

"Look,"

She said as she pointed at the tv.

Olivia walked closer and saw Fitz singing and dancing on the screen but she couldn't hear.

"Can you turn it up a little?" She said in Arabic to their Somali host.

Once the volume was up and she could hear Fitz singing, her heart melted. Her cheeks turned red as her eyes were glued to the TV.

"He is so fine," Siobhan said loudly.

"That's an understatement," Abby said.

Olivia didn't hear them, all she could hear was Fitz singing her favorite songs. She'd been dying to talk to him, since he went public with his divorce.

"Liv your patient looks good."

Olivia didn't answer. She was too glued to the TV to even hear what they were bantering about,

"Liv?" Abby called.

She didn't answer.

Abby eyed her suspiciously and wondered why she was staring at the TV, smiling the way she was.

"Olivia why are you looking at him like that?" She asked.

Then suddenly it all clicked for her. She grabbed Olivia's hand and pulled her outside.

"What the fuck Abby, I was watching that?" Olivia complained.

"Is the president Keith?"

"What?"

Olivia said as if it was the most preposterous thing she'd ever heard.

"Don't what me. I spoke with him a couple times and I wondered why the hell he sounded so familiar. I heard you say Fitz on the phone a couple times when you thought I wasn't listening. That's because he is the president, isn't he?"

Abby knew Olivia's antics all too well, she wasn't going to back down.

"Abby, I don't know what your talking about?"

"Don't lie to me Liv,"

"I'm not lying."

"Is he Keith?"

Olivia didn't answer.

"Well is he?"

"Fine, it's him, are you happy?"

Olivia turned quickly and went back to the living room to watch Fitz at the state dinner.

Abby waited until they were back in the bus heading to the airport to bring it up again.

"Olivia you are my best friend, why wouldn't you tell me this?" She whispered.

"Because, I didn't want to. I just wanted it to be between me and him until…"

"Until he was divorced."

"Yea maybe," Olivia said sarcastically.

"I can't believe you hid this from me. He was on my to do list, now this is awkward."

"You never told me he was on your to do list, he's a republican, I thought you didn't sleep with republicans."

"I made a few exceptions okay!"

Olivia chuckled and rolled her eyes.

"Yea sure."

"Wow, this is really awkward,"

"No, it's not."

"You're doing it with the president," Abby whispered.

"Shh. This is why I didn't tell you,"

"Sorry, it's not like I said it loudly."

"Just shh, okay. I'll tell you everything soon just not right now."

They rode quietly to the airport. Once Olivia got reception, she called Fitz, not caring about the fact that he was most likely sleeping.

"Liv?" He said groggily.

"Fitz, are you too tired to talk?"

"Of course not. I haven't heard from you in a week," he said as he sat up.

"I know but I just got to the airport. I watched your performance at the state dinner last night, I couldn't help but notice those were some of my favorite songs you were singing."

"That must've been by accident," he teased.

"I didn't know you could sing."

"I can't,"

"You can, you sounded wonderful and you can play the drums too, you never told me that."

"I forgot,"

She smiled.

"It's so good to hear your voice."

"You wouldn't have to miss me if you came home."

"Fitz."

"I know, I know, commitment and all that."

She chuckled.

"Speaking of commitment, I saw your announcement with Mellie, how did you manage to get her up there with you?"

"It's a long story and I'll tell you all about it when I see you but she did sign them, thankfully and my lawyer filed them a couple days ago."

"I'm surprised she signed."

"You won't be when I tell you what happened."

"Tell me."

"No, be patient."

"Fine," she said with a chuckle.

"I thought you'd be more excited about this divorce?"

"You told me you were going to do it then you did, it's not exactly like I didn't expect it."

"Good point."

They were quiet for a while.

"Fitz?"

"Yeah."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"Bye,"

"Bye Livie."

He waited for her to hang up then he went back to bed.

Hours later, Fitz sat in the Oval going over a bill passed up from the congress when Cyrus and big Gerry walked in.

"Your approval rating jumped 11 points after last night's performance. I could kiss you," Cyrus screamed.

Fitz looked up.

"You were magnificent Fitz, I'm not happy about the divorce announcement but after last night give it a couple weeks and then announce that your working on your marriage and that you've changed your mind about the divorce and put this whole circus behind us," Gerry added.

"Woah what?"

"Majority of Americans aren't happy about this divorce, now last night will get them off your back for a few news cycles and remind them that you're a likeable guy but this divorce will come back up. You're a republican son, republican presidents don't get divorced in office."

"I feel sorry for you then because Mellie already signed the papers and I filed them officially, can't exactly roll that back now can I?"

"Fitzgerald you are not going to win another term with a black woman by your side, a woman that caused you to divorce your wife. I don't care how smart she is or how pretty she is; that is going to lose you your base."

"Do not open your mouth and say a word about her, not even to give her a compliment. So what if she's black? It's done. The moment this divorce is finalized, she is going to be the one by my side whether you like it or not so deal with it."

"I don't care that she's black, I'm just saying your constituents will. There is still a lot of fuss about interracial dating, now is not the time. You're the president Fitz, personal feelings aren't apart of this game. You can't do this."

"I'm a grown man, I'm going to do whatever I feel like doing. Maybe if you ran for president and won then you wouldn't have to live vicariously through me now if you'll excuse me I have a bill to go through, we're done here."

Big Gerry turned and stormed out of the Oval Office, throwing up his hands in frustration as he went.

"Anything you want to get off your chest Cyrus?" Fitz challenged.

Cyrus shook his head.

"Nope, he's been going going crazy since the divorce announcement, it's good that you shut him down but if you're really serious about Olivia Pope you'll have to be strategic about it. She is smart and liberal, that's good, she can probably get democrats on your side the next election but you'll have to be very smart about how you come out with your relationship with her. She can't look like the other woman."

"She not the other woman and you'll help me to make sure no one thinks that."

Big Gerry walked down the hallway and pulled out his cell phone and pressed number 2 on speed dial on her burner phone and waited.

"Hello?"

"That job, I needed you to do, cancel it."

"No problem. Are you gonna pay me and my team now or…"

"Pay you for a job you didn't do, you must've lost your mind, I didn't get rich by giving away money. If you had done it weeks ago like I asked, I wouldn't be in this shit mess."

"In order to do it, a lot of people would have to die, you wanted it to be clean and quiet but I guess that doesn't matter anymore does it?"

"No, it doesn't."

Gerry didn't wait for a reply, he hung up dismissively and went back to the Oval to smooth things over with Fitz.


	21. Chapter 21

Olivia was quite exhausted when she landed in Ethiopia. If they had been able to take a straight flight from Mogadishu to Addis Ababa they could been in Ethiopia in less than two hours but they had to take a flight from Mogadishu to Djibouti then from Djibouti to Addis Ababa and that took almost a day because of layovers. Then they drove 10 hours into rural Ethiopia to Nala, the village they would be stationed for the next week.

This time, instead of living with the villagers, they set up tents at an open lot in the village. The only convenient thing about that particular village was the fact the she had cell reception. Once they had camp set up, they immediately went to work, giving vaccinations and basic care to children. There were a few pregnant women who needed prenatals and others who just needed first aid, regardless, they took care of as much people as they could.

Later that night, Olivia sat in her tent and dialed Fitz, it was mid afternoon his time and she hoped he was free to talk.

"Olivia Carolyn Pope?"

"In the flesh, well, no, not yet, not till France."

Fitz chuckled.

"What are you doing?"

"I am on air force 1, I was just in New York at the UN headquarters now I'm heading back to D.C. what are you doing?"

"I'm laying in my tent."

"Did you just say 'tent'?"

"Yes, I just had to bathe with a bucket of water and a candle and now I'm laying in my tent in the middle of the village. Life is great, what I wouldn't give for a five guys double cheeseburger with extra bacon right now."

"It's funny you mention burgers because I just had one and boy was it good."

"Fitz, don't-"

"It was a double cheeseburger on a potato bun, mozzarella cheese melted down the sides, tomatoes, lettuce, onions and bacon, I can't forget to mention bacon."

"Fitz, how dare you tease me like that."

"There was so much grease, it was beautiful…"

"Fitz, I'm hanging up."

"No, no, don't hang up, I'll stop," he said as he laughed.

"Oh god, I can practically taste that burger now, why would you do that Fitz?"

"I'm sorry, you brought it up,"

Olivia was silent for a while and then she began again.

"Were there fries?"

Fitz laughed uncontrollably.

"Yes, seasoned fries; they were crunchy and hot."

He heard her gasp on the other end of the line.

"Were they salted?"

"Yes."

They both broke out laughing.

"Sir we have the defense secretary on the phone for you," Tom said as he walk over to Fitz with the phone in hand.

"Sorry, Liv, I have to go."

"No, it's okay. I'll talk to you same time tomorrow?"

"Yep, same time."

She hung up and fell asleep shortly after.

The next morning, she woke up early and met with the other doctors and staff in the middle of the camp. She brushed her teeth and freshened up, then they gathered and drank the soup that a few of the village women prepared for breakfast. Olivia and Abby joined Siobhan, Caleb and a few others in the community center where they had set up medical supplies to finish providing vaccinations and other services. In the middle of all the excitement, a pregnant mother's water broke. Olivia and Siobhan ran over to her and helped her lay on the bed. Olivia asked her a few question in her native tongue and then translated for Siobhan. They attended to her and waited for hours as the contractions came closer and closer together. When she was fully dilated, they began delivery.

"Bare down and push!" Olivia said in arabic.

Olivia held her hand tightly and pulled her hair from her face and encouraged her to push. Siobhan was down by her legs waiting for the arrival of the baby. It took almost an hour for the baby to come and the mother got ripped in the process but Siobhan sewed her up quickly while Olivia took care of the baby boy that was delivered. He was slightly underweight for a full term baby but he was healthy nonetheless.

It was dark out by the time they had finished fully taking care of the mom and her baby. They went back to their camp and began preparing for bed after a long day. Once she was all cleaned up from her day and ate dinner, she sat inside her tent with her little electric lamp and dialed Fitz.

"Hey Liv."

"Hey, I am calling you at a bad time?"

"I'm never too busy for you."

"Are you sweet talking me mister?"

"Yes, I'm trying to be on my best behavior before France."

"Why?"

"Because there won't be any sweet talking once I have you there."

"I'm so excited, I want you to do dirty things to me. Things so dirty that if people found out they'd have you impeached."

"I'll take that as a challenge."

She chuckled.

"Mhm and in return I'd do equally disgusting things to you."

"Really, you don't seem like the freaky type," he goaded.

"Oh please Fitz, I'll do things to you that will blow your mind and make you never want to let me go."

He chuckled.

"I don't want to let you go right now."

She smiled.

"Well good, you're smart."

"Upon occasion, yes."

"Guess what I did today?"

"What?"

"I delivered a baby today. A baby boy."

"You did?"

"Yes, it took the entire day but I did it, I mean, not all by myself, Siobhan helped me. We were a team."

"Is that the first baby you've ever delivered?"

"No, when we come over here, we're practically every doctor rolled into one, today I was an ob/gyn, who knows what I'll be tomorrow."

"Well, I'm very proud of you, I can't stress that enough."

"Thank you, I'm proud of you too, it's true that I am way more awesome than you but being president isn't too shabby I suppose."

"I'm the most powerful man in the world, I'd say that's a little better than not too shabby," he joked.

"Way to toot your own horn Fitz, that's very modest of you."

"Modesty isn't my strong suit and by the way before I forget, why haven't you been sending me pictures?"

"I haven't been doing anything outrageously exciting, I didn't think you'd want to see me taking picture with a bunch of kids all the time."

"No, I want to see it, I'll take whatever you give me."

She chuckled.

"No, seriously Liv, I will."

"How's Gerry, I still can't believe he got up on stage with you."

"He's doing his own thing. He's crazy about Kenna."

"Is she a nice girl?"

"She is, she's always really nervous when she has to speak to me so we haven't exactly conversed much but yea, she's nice."

"I miss you, I don't think you understand just how much I miss you, it's the first time I've been out on a mission and wanted to go home. I blame you."

"Then come home."

She smiled.

"You really are never going to stop trying to get me back home are you?"

"Nope, not until you're at D.C. international airport."

"Wouldn't it be funny if when we met in Paris you threw me in air force 1 and took be back to Washington?"

"What's funny is that I've actually thought about that?"

"You wouldn't?" she said as she chuckled.

"I would. I might."

"I'd cut you."

"Yeah okay," he said sarcastically.

"No seriously, I'm horrible, I do horrible things."

"Like…"

"Whenever I'm in the elevator and I see someone running to catch it, I press the close button."

"Seriously?" He said as he laughed.

"Yes seriously and I tell them to run and act like I'm pressing the open button but I'm not. I laugh when people trip, especially old people in the snow, that's the funniest thing in the world to me as long as they aren't badly hurt."

"You are an asshole."

She laughed and rolled onto her stomach. She was about to say something to Fitz when she heard rapid gunshots, he heard it too.

"Olivia what was that?"

The sound of the gunfire stopped.

"I don't know it sounds like gunshots?"

She sat up in her tent. She heard the rapid succession of gunfire begin again and then she heard screaming.

"Oh my god Fitz-"

"Olivia what's happening?"

She turned around and flicked off her battery operated lamp. The gunshots continued to ring out, she heard screaming and wailing.

"I-I don't know, I hear gunshots and screaming. Fitz I'm scared."

Fitz stood up in the oval.

"Where are you now?"

"I'm in my tent?"

"Is there any light inside your tent, turn it off."

"I just did."

The sound of the gunfire multiplied, she could hear the the heavy thud of boots running outside her tent, she heard children crying and screaming, woman and men wailing.

"Olivia it's important that you keep me on the line."

"Okay," she whispered.

"Tom I need you now?" Fitz called.

Tom ran in right away.

"I need all my defense secretaries and security in the situation room now or on the phone, where ever you can get them and call the U.S. military base in Ethiopia, like right now."

"Olivia what's the name of the village?"

"Nala."

"Tom, I need apache's in the air now, there is a fire fight in the Nala village, I need guys on the ground there now."

"Yes sir."

"Lauren; call Cyrus!" he screamed.

"Liv are you still there?"

"Yeah,"

"Hold on, I'm trying to get a team there as fast as I can."

"Okay."

"Is there anywhere you can hide, a forest close by maybe?"

"They're right outside, I can hear them, the forest is too far from my tent, they would see me."

"Can you tell how many men there are?"

"I'm not sure but I hear about 5 separate machine guns being fired at the same time, I can also hear handguns, I can't tell how many though."

Then Olivia remembered Abby.

"Oh my god Abby. I have to find Abby."

"Olivia do not come out of your tent to go find Abby!"

"Fitz that's my best friend, I have to make sure she's okay."

"Olivia, you don't know if Abby is safe somewhere, do not go looking for her!" He ordered.

"Oh my god I can't believe this is happening," she said in a panic.

"Ms. Pope run!" her guard screamed from outside the tent.

As soon as he screamed she heard a single gunshot.

"Oh my god-"

"Olivia what's going on?" Fitz screamed.

Cyrus ran into the room simultaneously.

"Fitz what's going on?"

Fitz didn't answer.

"Olivia can you answer me?" Fitz said softly.

"Fitz I think-"

A man poked his head in her tent and grabbed her leg and pulled her out. She couldn't exactly see his face since her only source of light was the camp fire that was 20 feet away and the moonlight.

She screamed mid sentence.

"LET ME GO!"

"Olivia?" Fitz screamed.

He heard another rapid round of gunfire.

"Let her go!"

Fitz could hear one of her guards scream and then there was gunfire again. Olivia screamed again. He had no idea what was going on, all he could hear was the sound of Olivia screaming then he heard a thud.

The phone fell from Olivia's hand into the dirt and then everything sounded far away.

The man who grabbed Olivia was fully militarized, in a camo suit with a bullet proof vest and belt of bullets slung across his body. He wore a black balaclava, black gloves and black boots. He covered her mouth to get her to stop screaming and dragged her across the stone ground to the campfire.

The other men were rounding up all the doctors by the campfire. As the masked man pulled Olivia over to the other doctors, she could see Abby. She was kneeling beside Siobhan and the other female doctors. All the men doctors laid dead on the ground beside them including Caleb, a good friend of Olivia's. The man shoved Olivia to the ground beside Abby and Siobhan.

"Liv?" Abby called.

"Quiet!" the man commanded. He seemed to be the leader. He was huge, he was at least 6'6, very muscular and rigid with his posture.

He stood in front of the group of 7 women and pulled a picture out of his pocket and then looked at Olivia.

"Take this one, kill everyone else." he said as he pointed to Olivia.

She grabbed on to Abby, who was crying and shaking.

"No! Please don't kill her!" she screamed.

The man yanked Olivia off of Abby all the while Olivia tried to fighting him off but it was no use.

"Please don't kill her. You don't have to. Please." Olivia stood strong as she spoke to him.

The man chuckled.

"Okay fine, take the redhead, we might have some use for her."

One of the other men grabbed Abby and pulled her up. Olivia looked at Siobhan and the other doctors who were kneeling on the ground sobbing.

"Please, you don't have to kill them."

"We don't but we are going to kill them to make a point."

He paused.

"Let's make this interesting, I'll give you a choice: 5 doctors or the redhead? Choose. I'll leave the 5 doctors and kill the redhead or I'll kill the redhead and leave the 5 doctors, your choice."

"I'm not doing that!"

"Choose; it's either gonna be the 5 doctors or the redhead and if you don't choose then I'll just kill them all."

Olivia looked at Abby, who was crying uncontrollably then she looked at the 5 doctors, all of whom she considered friends but Abby wasn't her friend, she was a family. She knew she'd never forgive herself for her decision but she also couldn't lose Abby, so she chose,

"Abby,"

The man laughed.

"Their blood is on your hands, I gave you a choice, remember that."

She turned her face as the men aimed their gun at the doctors. She couldn't look. Some of the women began praying and other just like Siobhan just wept and screamed Olivia's name.

"OLIVIA PLEASE!" Siobhan screamed.

"Olivia I have a baby, please. Liv." Simone, another doctor begged.

They were each shot execution style. As soon as the last body hit the floor, the men pulled Olivia and Abby up and dragged them through the village to their car.

"Why are you doing this?" Olivia screamed.

As they pulled her she saw all the dead bodies scattered on the ground. Bodies of men, women and children, no one was spared. She was still in shock as the shoved her into the jeep. Abby was taken to another jeep. The moment the car pulled off, she felt a sharp pain against her skull and then everything went black.

* * *

Fitz sat in the situation room. He was still on the line, hoping that Olivia would pick up the phone and tell him she was okay. It had been 40 minutes since he heard the last gunshot through the phone, after that he heard nothing. He waited as the apache helicopters he ordered landed. They had an open line to the chief officer that was leading the force into the village.

"I want to see and hear everything that's going down there," Fitz ordered.

His defense secretary nodded. "Gentlemen make sure you maintain audio and visual," he spoke to the screen.

"Yes sir." The chief officer replied.

When the helicopter landed in the middle of the village the soldiers descended on high alert. One soldier wore a camera band on his head that transmitted visual back to the situation room. It was night time in Ethiopia, so the camera showed through night vision. Fitz watched the screen as the soldiers looked around.

"It's quiet sir."

He could see the local people running from the soldiers as they moved swiftly to find the doctors. One of the soldiers stopped one of the running villagers.

"Doctors, where are the doctors?" He asked.

The village man seemed to only understand the word doctor and pointed in the direction of the camp. As the soldier walked, Fitz could see dead villagers scattered on the floor and women, men and children crying over their loved ones. As they neared the camp Fitz saw a bunch of bodies spread out on the ground by a campfire. The soldier stood directly in front of the bodies and looked down. Fitz and everyone in the room saw the single bullet wounds to their heads. They were all dead.

"Sir, they were all shot at point blank range," the soldier said.

Fitz stood up and search the screen frantically for Olivia but he didn't see her.

"Christ! They butchered them," Cyrus called out at the sight of all the dead bodies.

The soldier moved from the bodies and walked further and Fitz saw both guards he hired to protect Olivia lying dead on the ground 15 feet apart from each other. He watched as the soldier checked tent by tent and found no one.

"Clear," he said as he walked away from the tents.

They gathered all the bodies of the doctors in the center of the camp.

"Your order sir?" the captain asked.

"I need everyone accounted for. I don't see Olivia pope, she was apart of the group. Find her now."

"Yes sir," the captain replied.

Fitz turned to Cyrus.

"I need a list of everyone that's missing and everyone that is dead."

Then he turned and faced his joint chiefs and his defense secretary.

"I need you to figure out what the hell happened over there," he ordered.

"Yes Mr. President."

He turned around and headed back to Oval Office, he felt nauseous. He paced frantically as he tried to reign in his emotions and process what was going on.

Cyrus walked into the oval a few seconds later.

"Fitz, calm down and take a breath."

"How Cy? How? How can I be calm. I don't know where she is. I don't know if she's alive."

Fitz voice broke as he uttered the last word.

"She's not dead, if she was dead she would've been with the other doctors, maybe she got away, the forest was close by, maybe she escaped."

"Oh god what am I gonna do?" Fitz mumbled to himself in panic.

His head was spinning and his heart felt as if it was going to burst out of his chest.

Cyrus watched Fitz in shock, he'd never seen him lose his cool like that before.

"Fitz, we'll find her. I promise, I'll order more soldiers on the ground to search the woods and we'll get a translator to talk to the villagers to see what they know. Stay here and just calm down, we'll find her okay."

Fitz took a deep breath but he didn't respond. Cyrus took that as his que to go. As he neared the door, Fitz spoke.

"Cyrus, she can't die. I can't lose her, I know you may not like her, I know I've only known her for 3 months but I can not lose her."

"I'll do everything possible to find Olivia Pope and bring her back to you but I need you to stay calm and just give me some time to find her. Take a minute, calm down and then come back to the situation room so we can figure this out."

Fitz nodded.

"Okay."

Once Cyrus walked out he called Lauren into the office.

"Lauren?"

As soon as she heard Fitz calling she sprinted into the office.

"Mr. President?"

Fitz still had his back turned to her.

"I need you to go and get my father from the residence and bring him here."

"Uh okay sir, I'll do that right now."

Lauren ran out nervously and summoned Big Gerry to the Oval Office.

When Gerry walked in the office, Fitz was standing by the window, looking outside.

"Fitz, why is your secretary summoning me."

"I'm going to ask you this once."

"What?"

"Did you have anything to do with that happen to Olivia tonight?"

"Olivia? What happened to her?"

"Her village was attacked. Whoever attacked the village killed all the doctors but I can't find her."

"I swear, I don't know anything about this. Why would you even think I would do this."

"Because I know you. Because ever since you stood exactly where you are standing right now and gave me your bullshit fatherly love speech, I've been suspicious of you."

"I didn't do this."

Fitz turned around and faced him.

"I am going to scour the entire continent of Africa until I find her, and if I find out that you had anything to do with this- I'm coming for you because no one is going to stand in the way of me and Olivia being together, not this presidency, not you and not whoever it is that attacked her village."

He paused and turned back to face the window.

"We're done here, you can go."


	22. Chapter 22

Olivia woke up on a cold concrete floor. She was in a hallway and she could see the open door with light peaking through from outside at the end of the hall . She felt a throbbing pain in her head, she guessed that they must have hit her in the head and knocked her unconscious, that's the only way she could explain the lost of time on her end. She felt Abby shuffle beside her and then she sat up.

"Abby?" she whispered.

"Liv?" she said with tears in her eyes.

Abby's right ear was covered in dried blood.

"Abby did they hurt you?"

Abby reached up and touched the side of her face.

"I think they knocked me out."

"Me too."

"Do you have any idea where we are?" Olivia asked.

"No, I just woke up, minutes before you."

Olivia looked around, she didn't see any guards.

"Liv your face is covered in blood."

Olivia reached up and felt her face, the blood from her wound hadn't quite dried as yet.

"Have you seen any guards?"

"No."

Olivia took a deep breath.

"Abby, if we're going to leave, we have to do it now."

"What if they catch us."

"We have to try, for all we know, they dumped us here and left."

Olivia was about to get up when she heard the thud of boots coming her way from outside. The man walked down the hallway and stopped right in front of them.

"You girls are up? Did you sleep alright?"

Olivia recognized his voice, he was the leader.

"What do you want from me?" Olivia asked.

He smiled and stooped in front of her.

"Well little lady, I was hired to kidnap you,"

"You were hired to kidnap me?"

"Yes, which was fine but then my client called it off, which was also fine, what wasn't fine was the fact that after all the time and effort I put into gathering all my men and trailing you all the way from Tehran, my client decided not to pay me. To a man of my sort, you can see why I would take issue with that."

"Who hired you to kidnap me?"

"Not important, what's important is that we need to get paid," he replied evenly.

"Is that what this is about, money, I'll pay you whatever you were supposed to get paid, just let me and my friend go."

"If I take your money and let you out of here in one piece then he wins, I don't like being made a fool of, my men don't like being taken advantage of and my boss won't like our reputation being tarnished so let me tell you how this is going to work, firstly, I am going to kill your friend,"

Abby let out a loud sob.

"If not as a shocking death to let my client know that I mean business then I can give her to my men and they can do whatever they want with her and they are true savages, they are just the worst of the worst. I'm still deciding though so you have a few more hours redhead."

He turned to face Olivia who was holding on tightly to Abby's hand.

"And you, Olivia is it? That's your name right? Anyways, I don't have personal beef with you so hopefully for you, my client pays me my due sooner than later and I'll let you go no harm no foul. If he decides not to then-"

He stopped and smiled.

"You're a doctor so let me ask you this. How long does it take for someone to starve to death? A tiny little thing like you?"

Olivia didn't answer.

"Well, whatever the answer is that's how long you will have. Maybe 3 weeks or a month, we'll see. Don't worry though, you won't die thirsty."

He pulled a small bottle of water from out of his vest and handed it to Olivia.

"Drink up."

He smiled and stood up and continued walking down the hallway. As soon as he was far enough out of range Olivia hugged Abby tightly and hushed her.

"Abby, I'm not going to let them kill you," she whispered.

Abby couldn't form coherent words through the tears and she didn't try, she just continued crying.

"Abby tell me that you believe me."

Abby tried to draw back her tears and speak.

"I believe you."

"And I need you to promise me something."

Abby nodded.

"When you get the chance Abby, run and keep running and do not look back, even if I don't make it with you."

Abby started crying again.

"Liv, I'm not leaving you here."

"Abby, promise me."

"I can't Liv."

"Abigail, promise me,"

Olivia looked her in the eyes.

"Please Abby, promise me."

Abby closed her eyes and shook her head in defeat.

"I promise."

"Okay, we need to come up with a plan."

Olivia stopped to think.

"The only reason they would leave us untied and so close to the door if they had guards outside. Last night there were 5 men," Olivia said mostly to herself.

"What if they have more men?" Abby asked.

"I don't think they do, they don't need that many men to kidnap one person as they had planned and these guys are mercenaries, they all want a part of the check, the less they have to split it, the better so, they usually keep the group small."

Abby nodded.

"Abby, I need you to look out, I'm going to crawl to the door and peek outside, let me know if anyone is coming."

"Okay."

Olivia crawled quickly to the door that was about 15 feet away from her. She carefully peeked out, she saw two armed men drinking beer and laughing, standing idly by a wall. She saw the forest directly ahead. She looked up to the sun and then she crawled back to Abby.

"Okay, Abby two of them are outside and the other two are probably back there with the leader. There is a forest about 60 feet away from the yard. That's how far, you'd have to run. We're still in Ethiopia."

"How do you know?" Abby asked.

"Trigonometry Abby, if you know the height of the object and the length of the shadow- you also need time and date (which I don't have but I'm estimating) then you can figure out the location of something. The position of the sun and the length of the shadow off of that 12 foot wall outside suggest we are still in Ethiopia."

"That's good right?"

"Yes,"

"Olivia seriously- what if we get caught?"

"Abby, I literally just let 5 people die to spare your life, 5 people who had children and families. I'm going to have to live with that for the rest of my life. I'm going to hear them screaming my name for the rest of my life. I know that you are in the position because of me but I didn't let 5 people die so that you could come here and die too so pull yourself together and so we can get out of here because they will kill you and then they will kill me."

Abby took a deep breath.

"You're right, I'm sorry, thank you for saving me. I'm just scared."

"Don't thank me for what I did."

Olivia paused realizing she was being harsh.

"I'm scared too but we have to do this, you will not die for someone's entertainment okay."

"Okay," Abby repeated.

Olivia took a deep breath to compose herself.

"Abby I'm gonna teach you how to say 'take me to the american embassy' in arabic, can you learn that?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

"Repeat after me - 'yakhadhni 'iilaa alssifarat al'amrikia',"

Abby got tongue tied trying to repeat it. Olivia went over it with her over and over again until it was intelligible then Olivia explained to Abby exactly what she needed to do in order for their plan to work.

"Okay Abby, the forest isn't too far from the door. Honestly Abby, we probably won't both be able to get away, it'll have to be you. If I can draw attention to myself and have them run to my aid then you can probably slip away but you will have to run fast and you can't look back."

"Olivia, how can you expect me to just leave you here. I can't do that."

"Don't think of it that way. They won't kill me, not yet. They still have to try and get their money. That gives us a little time. When you leave here you have to do everything in your power to make it to the embassy and get back to DC. When you get to DC, I need you to ask to speak to the president and tell him what happened here okay. He's looking for us, so once you get to the embassy he should know you are there and he'll want to speak to you, a lot of people will so make sure that you tell them what that guy just said. "

"Okay."

"Make sure you know what direction you're walking in the forest as well, so you can tell them, okay?

"Okay."

"Are you ready?"

"No."

"Abby, you have to be ready, you don't know what those guys are back they're planning to do to you, you have to leave now."

"What if I don't make it?"

"You will and take the water with you okay."

Abby nodded.

"Okay."

They switched positions and Abby grabbed the bottle of water then Olivia took a deep breath and screamed as loud as she could. Immediately all the guards came rushing to her. Once the were all hovering over Olivia , Abby crawled behind the leg of one guard and took off. Two of the guards turned to chase after her but Olivia put her leg in the way and they tripped over each other. When he tripped beside Olivia, she saw a knife in his holster and pulled it and stabbed him in his side then she turned her head to see Abby hesitate as if she was turning around to come and help her.

"RUN ABBY!" She screamed.

Abby turned back around and sprinted.

One of the men that tripped on the floor grabbed his gun and fired a barrage of bullets in Abby's direction. A bullet hit Abby's arm but she didn't stop running. He kicked Olivia and stood up and headed after Abby. The injured man laid in the floor bleeding. Two other men followed and chased after Abby into the woods.

Olivia held the knife to the throat of the man who was on the floor.

"Let me go or I'll kill him," she said to the leader who stood over her quite amused by what had just taken place.

She could see his gun in his waist and she knew she was hopelessly outmatched but she wasn't backing down.

"Go ahead doctor, kill him, honestly, he's annoying and that's one less person I'll have to pay."

Olivia had no plans on actually killing him. When she stabbed him, she purposely gave him a non lethal wound.

"I'm serious, I'll do it," she screamed.

He laughed.

"You should, I want you to," he said with a chuckle.

He waited and when she didn't make a move he kneeled in front of her and took the knife out of her hands.

"Here, I'll do," he said.

"Rex, don't do this. Rex-" the injured man begged.

"Sorry, Max."

Olivia watched as he jammed the knife into Max's throat over and over again until he stopped moving then Rex stood and pulled her up off the floor and held her by the throat.

"You made a big mistake."

Fitz had been in the Oval all night waiting on the update from any who would give him one. He had soldiers scouring in the forest, they had spoken to everyone in the village and no one knew anything other than the fact that 5 armed men attacked the village and killed everyone in their path. Everyone except Abigail and Olivia, they were the only two doctors who were missing. He had all the military bases and embassies in that region of the continent looking out for them.

It had been fours days since they took her, fours days of sleepless night, four days of barely being able to function because all he thought about was the fact that she was either dead or hurt.

He took a deep breath and turned on tv in his office and turned up the volume to see if they were reporting anything he hadn't been briefed on.

"It has been 4 days since the attack on the Nala village in northern Ethiopia. A group of armed, masked men ascended on the village and killed 41 civilians including women and children and a group of 13 doctors who were volunteers from the Doctors Without Borders organization. The only 2 doctors who are missing but presumed dead are Olivia Pope and Abigail Whelan. You may know Olivia Pope, the young, genius neurosurgeon who successfully performed brain surgery on President Grant earlier this summer after his assassination attempt. There have been worldwide vigils in the wake of the horrible massacre that took the lives of 13 doctors, 8 of them American. The families of the American doctors gathered at the Dover Air Force base to collect the remains of their loved ones and in attendance at the collection ceremony was President Grant who gave his sincere condolences to the grieving families. We will continue to report on this tragic incident and we pray that Olivia Pope and Abigail Whelan can return home safely to their families."

They showed pictures of Olivia and Abby on their various Dwb missions and then they went into commercial.

Fitz sighed and turned the TV off, he didn't know why he bothered, he only felt worse after watching the news.

He got up and headed to the residence to shower and get coffee. As he sat in the kitchen drinking his coffee, Gerry walked in.

"Morning Dad."

"Hey Ger."

"How are you? Is anything there any new information about Liv?" Gerry asked as he sat across the table from Fitz.

"No, nothing yet."

Gerry paused unsure of how to continue.

"Dad, I'm really sorry this happened. I know I said that before but I really am and if you ever need to talk to someone you can talk to me, after all Olivia was the one that said that I'm really mature for my age and if Olivia said it then it's gotta be true right?" Gerry said trying to cheer him up.

Fitz smiled halfheartedly.

"Any good news and you'll be the first to know Gerr."

"Thanks dad."

Gerry stood up and walked around the table and gave Fitz a tight hug, he held on for a moment then let go.

"She's gonna be okay dad. I can feel it."

"Thanks Gerr."

"I love you dad, I'll see you after practice." Gerry left quickly after, not waiting for Fitz to reply.

Once he finished his coffee, he headed straight back to the to oval and waited for Cyrus.

He stared through the window blankly for almost an hour when Tom walked in.

"Sir, we have something, Situation room."

Fitz almost fell over as he ran to Tom and they headed to the situation room together. He had a bunch of state department workers doing shifts in the situation room in order to have a team working round the clock.

"Sir, the U.S embassy in Addis Ababa just called, they have an Abigail Whelan there, one of the doctors."

"Is Olivia Pope with her?"

"No, just Ms. Whelan, some local people brought her in."

He was disappointed but if Abby could show up after 4 days then so could Olivia, it gave him hope.

"Let me speak to her."

"Sir. She currently receiving medical attention."

"What happened to her?"

"Severe dehydration and she also had a gunshot wound to the arm and a head wound, the local people found her wandering by the roadside asking them to take her to the American embassy, she became unconscious on her way to the embassy."

"How are they sure it's Abby Whelan?"

"Photo ID."

"Wake her up!"

"Sir?"

"Wake her up!" Fitz ordered again.

"Sir, we'll try and once she's up we'll get her on the phone,"

"And I want her on a plane back to D.C. now. Get an army doctor to take care of her one the flight, I don't care what you have to do just get her here."

"Yes sir,"

Fitz walked back to the Oval Office with Tom in tow.

Fitz took a deep breath.

"If Abby found her way back then that means Olivia is still out there."

Tom didn't reply.

"Right?"

"Yes sir," Tom replied.

"Tom your making me feel like I'm crazy for thinking she's out there. If Abby just showed up, she can too."

Tom hesitated before deciding to say what was on his mind.

"Sir, I just want you to be prepared for the worse."

"The worst being that she's dead?" Fitz said callously.

"Sometimes death can be a best case scenario, a quick clean death like the other doctors got."

"You can't possibly be suggesting that she'd be better of dead."

"If they took her, men like that, men who would kill that many innocent people so recklessly then she would be better dead. I don't think it's a coincidence that she didn't die at that village. I think they took her."

"You think I don't know that Tom. I know but then I'd have to wonder why they would take her and leave everyone else and I'd have to start imagining the things they are doing to her and I can't do that right now, I can't think about that right now or I'll go crazy so I'm going to sit here and wait till her friend wakes up so she can tell me what the hell happened."

"Yes, sir, we'll get her an army doctor and get her on a c-17 back to washington immediately."

"Thank you Tom..."

Olivia looked around the dark room. It had been 5 days since she last had something to eat or been in contact with a human being and it was getting to her. It was too quiet. She tried to entertain herself by singing, humming, reciting her favorite poems but it didn't work. She was surrounded by darkness and quiet and the only thing she could feel was hunger and pain. The sound of Siobhan and Simone screaming her name played in her head on a loop. That constant sound in her head was more painful than the three broken ribs she was given by Rex and his men after Abby escaped. She had a severely bruised sternum caused by a kick to the chest. Everytime she coughed, she tasted blood. She told herself that her sacrifice was worth it, at least Abby got away because if she hadn't gotten away they would have killed her. The only silver lining was the fact that, they didn't hover. She hadn't seen or heard a sound from them since they beat her and she woke up in the dark room and she wondered if that was a good or bad thing. She wondered if they left her to die, she didn't think they were above it, they killed 13 doctors without so much as a second thought, Rex killed one of his own men just so he could pocket a few more dollars. The joy she felt when they returned without Abby was short lived because of the onslaught they unleashed on her due to her part in the escape. The first kick was painful, the second even more so, Olivia stopped counting when she tasted blood and then next thing she knew, she woke up in darkness. She wasn't even sure if she was in the same country let alone the same continent but at least Abby was out there somewhere and she could tell Fitz what happened and that gave her comfort.

On her first day in her dark room, she felt her way around the room and realized there was a toilet and sink for which she was thankful. Even though she couldn't see, she knew where everything was, not that there was much. She didn't move unless she had to drink water or use the bathroom. She knew if she over exerted herself in her starving condition, she would only die faster.

As she laid on the ground drifting back to sleep, she heard a soft thump at the door then the sound of a latch opening. She sat up, anxiously waiting to see who it was.

As the door opening and light flooded in, she saw the silhouette of a tall, familiar figure. He smiled at her, the charming, knee weakening, heart melting smile that she loved.

"Fitz?"

He walked over to her and kneeled beside her, he had tears in his eyes.

"Did they hurt you Livie?"

He caressed her cheek and wrapped his arms around her protectively, the way he always did.

"Yes, they hurt me," she cried as she held onto him.

"Don't cry Livie, I'm going to find you and get you out of here."

She looked up and squinted her eyes in confusion.

"But you're here right now, you found me. Please don't leave me here Fitz. Please, I can't stay here another day."

"I haven't found you as yet. I'm not real. You're dreaming. I have to go now but I'll be back tomorrow."

"Fitz do not leave me here!" she screamed.

He stood up and headed to the door.

"Fitzgerald do not leave me here. Please!" she screamed.

He turned and smiled and then headed out the door and locked it.

She jump out of her sleep and found herself in the same dark room she was in before she fell asleep, having the same dream turned nightmare she had been been having every time she closed her eyes and tried to sleep. She took a moment to catch her breath and sat up in the dark room. She began reciting her favorite poem, the poem she had been saying to herself every time she fell asleep and woke up in that dark room:

"Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage, against the dying of the light…"

She said it until her mind drifted into nothingness and she fell asleep and had the same nightmare and she woke up and begin the cycle again.


	23. Chapter 23

Fitz walked down the hall of James Madison hospital. Abby had arrived a half hour earlier and he made his way there as soon as he found out. The secret service went ahead of him to give her floor a security sweep and then lined the hallway as he walked behind Tom into Abby's room. She was hadn't regained consciousness since they found her.

As Fitz walked in the room, he saw Dr. Finch, the British doctor who he remembered worked with Olivia when he had first met her after waking up from his coma.

"Mr. President," Stephen said a little shocked.

"Dr. Finch, I'd like to speak to Ms. Whelan when she wakes up."

"Yes sir."

"Do you have any idea when that will be?"

"I can't be sure, she resting right now so she can wake in 5 minutes or 5 hours, she's not in a coma but she really needs rest."

"Can you tell me the extent of her injuries?"

"Yes, she suffered from extreme dehydration and exhaustion. She had a severe concussion and a gunshot wound to her right arm,"

Fitz nodded.

"Thank you Dr. Finch."

Stephen was about to head out but then he stopped and turned to ask Fitz a question.

"I'm sorry, Mr. President but I just needed to know if you knew anything about Olivia Pope, she was the doctor that worked on you when you were shot, I don't know if you remember but she was my best friend and she went missing along with Abby and I have been trying to get information on her and I can't, I just wanted to know if you knew anything."

"I'm sorry, Dr. Finch I don't,"

"Please, if you know anything, please tell me, they were both missing Abby came back and she didn't that can't be good."

"I don't," Fitz said again.

Stephen stared at him for a moment, annoyed that he was being so dismissive and then left.

Fitz sat by Abby's bed, his anxiety was at an all time high and he couldn't just sit and wait for her to wake up so he decided to wake her. He nudged her gently on the leg and called her name.

"Abby?"

He could see her twitch.

"Abby?" he called a little louder.

She shuffled and he tapped her leg again.

'Abby please wake up."

She shifted and then opened her eyes wide.

"Where am I? Where's Olivia?" she said in a panic.

"You're safe Abby, you're in America, at the James Madison hospital."

Abby took a few deep breaths.

"Abby, I need you to tell me what happened to you in Ethiopia?"

"She told me you would want to talk to me."

"Who Olivia? So she's alive?" Fitz said a little too quickly.

Abby shook her head and started crying.

Fitz stepped back and looked at her in horror.

"She's not dead."

Abby sobbed.

"No, she's not but they have her. She's in Ethiopia when I managed to get away but I don't know exactly where, I was walking for days before I reached the road, maybe they moved her, I don't know."

"Abby, I need you to tell me everything that happened please start at the beginning and don't leave anything out, it's imperative that you tell me all the details."

Fitz sat back in the chair beside her bed and waited for Abby to begin, Tom stood by the door recording the conversation to make sure they had all the details to find Olivia.

"I'm sorry, can I have some water?" Asked Abby.

"Sure,"

Fitz quickly walked to the trolley and poured her some water and then handed it to her. She took a sip and then began.

"I was walking with Siobhan, we had just finished eating dinner and we were heading back to our tent when we saw three armed men running. They had huge machine guns and masks on and they fired on the villagers first. Siobhan and I ran but they grabbed us and brought us over by the campfire and made us kneel on the ground. They shot all the men and left all the women, Olivia was the last one that they brought to the campfire. They grabbed her from her tent, the guys she hired tried to help her they really did but they killed them. When they shoved her on the ground one of the guys, the leader, pulled a picture out of his pocket and then pointed to Olivia and said she was the one."

Fitz cut her off.

"So they came for her specifically?"

"Yes. He ordered the other men to kill everyone except Olivia. They were going to kill me but she begged them not and -"

She hesitated.

"Abby, I need to know."

"They made her choose?"

"Choose what?"

"Choose between killing me or the other doctors."

"What do you mean?"

"She begged them not to kill me and the leader said he'll spare me or the 5 other doctors. She said she wouldn't choose but he said if she didn't choose then he'd kill all of us."

"And she picked you over the 5 doctors?" Fitz asked.

Abby nodded slowly.

"What else?"

"They took us to their car and I don't remember anything until I woke up in a hallway. They hit me in the head and knocked me out, Olivia too, she had blood all over her face. Once we woke up the leader of the group came to us and-"

Abby paused and started sobbing again.

"Abby I need you to tell me what happened?"

Abby took a deep breath and began again.

"He said that he was going to kill me or have his men do whatever they wanted to do to me. He said that the only reason they took Olivia was because someone wanted him to kidnap her but then they called it off and didn't pay him. He said he was going to starve her to death if he didn't get him money then he left. Olivia made me promise to run if I could, she said that if I didn't run they were going to kill me. She came up with a plan to help us get away but then she said it would have to be me, that we wouldn't both be able to escape. She screamed and all the guards came running to her and then I ran through the door, one of the guard tried to run after me but she tripped him and then he kicked her. I tried to turn back but she kept telling me to run so I did. The guard shot me as I was running into the woods. I ran until I couldn't hear them following me anymore, Olivia gave me her bottle of water that's the only reason I survived in the woods. Olivia taught me how to say take me to the american embassy in arabic but by the time I hit the road I had been travelling through the woods for 3 or 4 days. I kept repeating what she told me to say anyone I saw until a man and his family helped me.

"So these men were mercenaries who specifically came to find Olivia because someone hired them to kidnap her but backed out and didn't pay them?"

Abby nodded unable to stop crying.

"Abby is there anything else your forgetting, anything that could help me to find her?"

Abby tried to think.

"I ran south into the woods and I keep going south by foot until I hit the road, Olivia told me to remember what direction I walked, she said that might help you."

"If anyone asks you what happened, tell them you don't remember."

"Please you have to find her, those guys, they're horrible-"

"I know but I need you not to tell anyone else what you just told me."

Abby nodded and with that Fitz headed straight through the door, Tom followed.

"Tom, where is my father?" he asked as he walked down the hallway.

"In the residence sir."

"Take me to him."

Fitz was quiet on the drive back to the whitehouse. His blood was boiling. He couldn't believe he was stupid enough to not know that Gerry was behind the whole thing all along. It had Gerry's name written all over it, the mercenaries, the pulling out of the deal and not paying, everything.

The minute the car pulled up behind the white house, he sprinted up to the residence to find Gerry, Tom sprinted behind him, along with a couple of other agents.

"Where is he? Where is my father?" Fitz screamed.

"The sit room sir," one of the agents guarding the residence answered.

Fitz ran down the hallway and flung open the sit room door to find Gerry. He sprinted over to him and grabbed him by the throat and squeezed with every ounce of strength he had in him.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?" he screamed.

Gerry tried to pry Fitz's hands of his neck but they were fixed. He couldn't breath but Fitz continued squeezing. Tom had to pull Fitz off out of fear that if he didn't Fitz would've killed him. Tom and two other agents restrained Fitz.

Gerry fell over on the chair and heaved.

"What did you do?" Fitz asked again.

"I'm going to get her back, I swear."

"You're going to get her back? Are you fucking kidding me?"

Fitz saw a chair in front of him and managed to rassle himself out of Tom and Josh's grip and threw it in Gerry's direction; as soon as he threw it he felt Tom and Josh restraining him again, tighter than before.

"I told you that if you had anything to do with this, anything at all that it would be your head on a pike."

"Fitz, I promise-"

"Your promises mean nothing to me."

Fitz took a deep breath and tried to compose himself.

"Tom, take him to the situation room, kick out the state department guys and my advisers, I only want Cyrus in there."

Tom walked over to Gerry and escorted him to the situation room and ordered the other guard to collect Cyrus.

Fitz loosened his tie and took a deep breath and walked slowly to the situation room in an attempt to calm his nerves before he heard what Gerry had to say.

"What's going on?" Cyrus said as he walked into the situation room.

Fitz entered seconds after Cyrus.

"Fitz why do you look like that?" Cyrus asked.

Cyrus couldn't ignore the look of absolute indignation on Fitz face. Fitz ignored Cyrus and stood silently against the wall, purposely across the room from Gerry, he didn't trust what he would do if he was too close to him.

"I tried to have Olivia Pope kidnapped,"

"What?" Cyrus half screamed.

"What do you mean tried, they took her, I think that means it's successful," Cyrus said again.

"I was going to but when Fitz told me he filed the divorce papers, I called it off."

"You don't think that maybe 6 days ago when she was taken would've been a good time to tell us."

"I've been trying to reach out to them, to try to make a deal with them to get her back but they aren't responding."

Cyrus sat down and took a deep breath.

"Okay, who did you hire? Let's start there," Cyrus asked.

"A bunch of guys, I just know the leader, his name is Rex. He's the one I made the deal with, he's from a group of mercenaries, that's all I know about them, I've never met them before. I hired them to take her. They've been following her since she was in Tehran, they were suppose to have taken her earlier but they were waiting to do it quietly but when I called it off, they still wanted to get paid but- didn't think they'd go after her because I didn't pay them. I'm sorry Fitz-"

Cyrus cut him off.

"Is there anything that you have on them except one guys alias?"

"The phone number and the routing number for their bank account."

Cyrus nodded.

"Okay, Give it to me, I'll see if the CIA or NSA has anything on these guys."

Gerry looked through his phone and wrote the information down and handed it to Cyrus.

"Call them," Fitz said from across the room.

Gerry looked up at him.

"Fitz, I've been calling them, they aren't responding."

"Call them," he said again.

"Fitz-"

He walked over and took Gerry's phone and dialed the number and waited. The number was incorrect and went to an automated machine telling him to try a different number,

"You've been trying them huh?"

Gerry didn't reply.

"You know what I think. I think you called it off on purpose, I think you knew they would've taken her in retaliation which would work out for you because you'd still get them to take her and you wouldn't have to transfer them any money so there wouldn't be anything linking you to them. What is the number Gerry? The correct one?"

Fitz handed him the phone and waited for Gerry to pull up the number. He wrote it down and Fitz took the note.

"Cyrus get the state department guys to set up tracking on this number before I call it. Quickly."

Cyrus ran out to gather the state department analyst and investigators.

Fitz turned and faced Tom who stood by the door.

"Tom, call the FBI, hold him in the security bay until they come to arrest him."

"Arrest me, Fitz you're not serious?" Gerry asked in disbelief.

"Tell them to take him to the pentagon, tell them to be quiet about it. I don't want anyone knowing anything until I say so,"

"Fitz, I'm your father."

Fitz turned and faced him.

"I warned you, you better pray that she comes back in one piece or jail will be the least of your problems."

Fitz turned back to Tom.

"Take him, Tom."

Tom walked over to Gerry and pulled him up. Gerry wasn't going to cause a scene because that wasn't going to help and would only serve to raise questions from White House staff.

"Fitz, come on be reasonable, I promise I'll help you get her back, you've only known her three months, you've known me your entire life, you can't be serious," he said as Tom walked him to the door.

Fitz turned his back, completely ignoring his pleas.

Cyrus walked in shortly after with a group of workers from the state department after having brief them all of them on the 'need to knows' of what was going on.

He gave them the routing number and phone number and they began working on their computers.

"Okay sir, since the call is international in order for us to track it, it would have to last longer than 90 seconds."

"Okay," Fitz replied.

Cyrus walked over to him and spoke lowly so only Fitz could hear.

"Fitz, I don't think you should talk to them, have Henry do it, if you call, she'll only become for valuable to them."

"I know that Cyrus, I'm not stupid,"

Cyrus nodded.

"Henry, we need you to talk to these guys," Cyrus called across the room.

Henry nodded.

"Let me know when to initiate the call,"

"Now," Fitz responded.

"Okay, ladies and gentlemen, it's showtime,"

Henry dialed the number and listened as the phone rang over the speaker it was hooked up to. They heard when the line picked up and a man began speaking.

"After ignoring is for almost a week you finally decided to call."

"Let's make a deal," Henry said coolly.

Fitz stood beside Henry listening intently, ready to interject if he needed to. The man on the phone didn't seem to realize that it wasn't big Gerry.

"The time for deals between us passed. You had your chance. It turns out she's much more valuable to someone else."

Henry looked to Fitz and Fitz motioned for him to keep talking.

"I'll double what they are paying you."

"He isn't paying me, he's my boss and what he says goes ."

"Rex, I'm sure you could use a few million in your account right now, just help her accidentally escape and it's yours."

"There is no deal I would make with you that I would trust you to keep your end off."

He hung up abruptly before Henry could say another word.

"We lost it," one of the tech guys said.

"Call back!" Fitz ordered.

Henry tried calling back but it rang out then he tried again and there was no answer.

Fitz slammed his hands in the table in frustration.

"Try again!"

Olivia was sleeping when she felt someone hovering over her and opened her eyes slowly. The room was dark and she couldn't see who it was then a light flashed in her eyes but after being in the dark for so long, it was too bright so she closed her eyes.

"Hey doctor, it's been a while," Rex teased.

She heard snickering and realized that he wasn't alone. She opened her eyes again and squinted. She saw Rex and his men standing over her.

She closed her eyes again. Rex stooped down beside her.

"Hello Olivia, our boss would like to see you."

He pulled her up by her arm to help her stand up but she kept falling. Another guard grabbed her other arm and hoisted her up and they both walked her out of her black hole of a room into another room. As she walked into the room, she realized that it wasn't the same house from Ethiopia and that they did in fact move her after Abby escaped. She walked into the clean furnished room, she was still squinting from the brightness of the daylight. There was a tv and she could see clothing laid out on the bed. They laid her on the floor by the bed.

"Where am I?" she asked.

"Heaven," Rex answered teasingly.

"Can I have some water? I ran out yesterday or at least I think it was yesterday? What day is it?"

Rex's phone rang and he picked up and spoke briefly then hung up.

"He's here," Rex announced.

She watched them all stand a little straighter and scowl a little more dramatically as they waited for their boss to arrive. They seemed afraid and it was unnerving for her because the last thing she needed was someone worse than them. She heard footsteps walking down the hallway and braced herself. When the footstep came to a halt and a figure appeared in the door frame she couldn't help but chuckle softly out of sheer irony.

"Dad?"

"That's your father?" Rex asked shocked.

The other guards were all equally shocked.

"What happened to her?" Rowan asked.

"Sir I didn't know she was your daughter, you didn't tell us."

Rowan walked closer to Olivia and stooped beside her.

"Sit up," he commanded.

"I can't, three of my ribs are broken," her tone was barely above a whisper, she simply didn't have the energy to speak any louder.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" she asked.

"Are you going to tell me why the president's father wanted you dead?"

He waited for her to answer but she didn't, she was still processing.

"Regardless, Gerry Grant hired my men to take you out and then stiffed them,"

"So let me guess, you want your money? I'll pay you whatever he owes you and then you can let me go."

"No sweetheart, I was always going to take you but in the midst of planning a rare opportunity presented itself when Gerry Grant called my men, seeking their services to kidnap you. I allowed it because I figured why not get paid to do something I planned on doing anyways."

"So you were behind all of this? What do you want from me?"

"15 years ago we had a deal and because of you, I wasn't able to keep my end. You were suppose to build me a weapon but you didn't and I've had 7 countries out for my head, most notably Iran and that has made life very difficult for me over the past decade, it took some time but I was able to broker a new deal, one that would make me very rich; they are planning something big, something that would make 9/11 look like child's play but they need a big bomb, the bomb you made."

"Wait, what?" Olivia asked confused.

"It's been fascinating watching you on your travels, I'll admit that I got a little nervous when that drone strike hit the village your were lodged in, it was a little too close for comfort because you are really of no use to me or the Iranians dead."

"You are pathetic," Olivia said softly.

"Excuse me?"

"You are pathetic and sad and I feel sorry for you because you will never know love or friendship or even loyalty."

Rowan stood up.

"I am you father and you will not speak to me that way."

Olivia decided to sit up even though she knew it would be painful.

"You are not my father, not anymore so I will speak to you however I want because you don't deserve my respect. I wasn't going to build that bomb 15 years ago and I'm not going to build it now so you have massively wasted your time."

"That remains to be seen, the Iranians are ruthless and I'm sure they have more than a few techniques that will make you more than agreeable,"

"They can try."

"Don't be stupid Olivia."

"I'm not nor have I ever been stupid. When they realize that I'm not going to give them what they want, they will be angry and understandably so because that will be the second time you fell short and I'm sure they will want answers as well as their money back as guess who will be right there to tell them everything: me. I will tell them everything from your social security number to your blood type. They will kill me but that's okay because they will kill you too."

Rowan chuckled.

"They'd have to find me to do that."

"They will, you said it yourself, the Iranians are ruthless."

He checked his watch.

"You have an hour so I suggest you shower and make yourself presentable for when they come to get you. Rex will bring you some food, I want you to have your wits about you when they get here."

Rowan headed for the door, followed by his men.

"I don't matter to you at all, do I?"

She knew it was a silly question to ask but she wanted affirmation, she needed it.

He stopped in his track and turned around and faced her.

"No, not anymore - it didn't have to be like this. We could have worked together, we could have been great together but 15 years ago you turned your back on me, you wanted to be good, well, this is what being good feels like. Good people lose Olivia and you lost, I regret that I have to do this to you, I may not regard you as my daughter but you are my blood and whatever pain and suffering that you have to face at their hands, know that it is in aid of greatness. Goodbye Olivia."


	24. Chapter 24

Two months later.

Cyrus burst into the oval office, finding himself slightly out of breath even though he only ran 20 feet.

"Fitz, come now. Come now. Come right, right now."

Fitz turned around from staring through the window which had been his habit as of late.

"What is it?"

"We have a new report, I think it might be her."

Cyrus motioned for Fitz to follow him and then ran out. Fitz followed behind him, not exactly enthusiastic because after two months every time he got his hopes up about someone reporting that they might have found her, he always ended up disappointed; within seconds he was in the situation room.

"What's going on?"

His national security advisor began speaking.

"Sir, we have an undercover CIA agent working for Sa'ed Farrokh, the wealthy Iranian mobster-"

"And" Fitz interjected.

"He's been working his way to the inner circle and he got some intel saying Farrokh has an american female scientist being held prisoner at his Yazd facility. "

"Was he able to id her as Olivia Pope?"

"No sir that is what we are waiting for. This report was sent in a few weeks ago but I wanted to make sure we had the right person before bringing it to your attention," his security advisor answered.

"So what are we waiting for now?" Fitz asked.

"Confirmation sir, we can't risk blowing his cover but he was trying to confirm her identity. He was on duty last night at the facility, we are waiting now on word from him about whether he was able to gather any more information on her."

"When do you expect that will be?"

"It can be at any moment sir, once it is secure to brief us he will send some information our way."

"Okay, let me know the moment you hear something."

"Yes sir."

Fitz turned to head back to the Oval Office but before he stepped out the door one of the analyst called him.

"Wait?" one of the analyst called out.

Fitz turned back around.

"He just sent something through the channel."

The analyst squinted as he looked at his screen.

Fitz's heart began to race..

"Sir he says-"

Fitz could see the analyst making sense of the message as he read it, he figured it must've been in code.

"He says-"

"What? What did he say?" Fitz asked anxiously.

"He says it's her, he says he was able to make a positive id, he says she has brown and black curly hair, brown skin, high cheekbones - just like the picture."

"That's her!"

"He says you will need to organize a rescue attempt now because they are planning an execution in 54 hours."

"Execution? Why now?" Fitz asked.

"He didn't specify any reason sir."

"Can you pull up the compound on the satellite?"

"Yes sir, we have the coordinates, I'm pulling it up now," one of the state department workers said.

Fitz took a breath and sat in his chair. Within a few moments the images of the compound were on the screen. The house was a fortress, it was heavily guarded and he realized that one seal team wouldn't be enough to get her back so he decided to bring in reinforcements.

"Get centcom on the line now, I want task force blue briefed and prepped for deployment before the moon reaches its apex in Yazd, also get me the Iraq defense secretary."

Within moments Fitz was on the phone with various heads of state from Afghanistan, Yemen and Iraq gathering members of their special force teams to aid his seal team members in the mission. They weren't exactly allies but they often joined forces on security issues. They only had a five hour window to prepare and carry out the rescue, in which time they transported all the foreign special forces to the navy base to rendezvous with the seal team members and planned the entire mission; everything from entrance and exit strategies to which seal members would be fighting and who would be spearheading Olivia's rescue.

By the time it was 10pm in Yazd, the seal team was just a few miles outside of the facility in a CH-47F Chinook, the fastest helicopter in the world, followed by the Yemeni, Iraqi and Afghanistan forces. As they neared landing, the captain began speaking to his men.

"Alright boys, our goal is to get Ms. Pope out of there safe and sound and capture that son of a bitch Farrokh dead or alive, those are the orders from our commander-in-chief, there is a lot of firepower down there, watch your back, watch each other's back, so that all of us can leave here tonight to see another day."

They all huddled together and turned their body cameras on so that Fitz and the defense secretaries and advisors could see the mission in real-time as they waited to descend the helicopter.

Once they were on the ground, they made their way into the facility, the snipers who were in place took out armed guards on by one. As the shots rang out and their presence became known, a firefight ensued. Two of the soldiers who were tasked specifically with finding Olivia immediately headed to the house.

Fitz watched as they made their way through the house in search of an entrance to the basement where the CIA agent reported she was being kept. They came under fire from guards multiple times but each time they managed to defend themselves and kept moving forward.

Once they got to the basement, it seemed less like a house and more like a well-funded prison. There was a long white hallway with a white metal door at the end as the CIA agent had noted. They quickly ran down to the end of the hall and tried to pry the door open but it was locked. The captain fired at the lock until the structural integrity was compromised enough to allow the lock to be pulled off. Before they entered the room, they called Olivia's name.

"Ms. Pope?" the captain called.

There was no answer.

The other soldier peeked into the room quickly and upon realizing she was alone, he entered.

Everything in the room was a blinding white. Fitz saw Olivia laying on the floor shivering uncontrollably. Once the captain was close enough for Fitz to actually see her face, he felt numb.

She was dressed in white, her hair was wild and curly and spread out all over the floor. Her face was pale, under her eyes were dark as if she hadn't slept in months, her cheeks were hollow and he lips were a bluish color.

The soldier stooped down beside her.

"Ms. Pope?"

She didn't respond, she just stared at him blankly, as if she was in a fugue state.

"Ms. Pope?"

"Is she alive?" the other soldier who was keeping watch asked.

"Barely" the captain answered.

He scooped her up and headed quickly to the door.

"It's freezing in here, let's go."

As they walked down the long hallway, two Iranian militants appeared from the entrance and opened fire.

"Cover her, cover her."

The captain shielded Olivia as the other soldier fired on the two Iranians, killing them both. They ran quickly up the stairs, through the house and out into the yard to find most of the militants dead and his soldiers gathering all the live ones to be taken prisoner.

"Did you get Farrokh?" the captain asked.

"Yes, sir, alive," one of his officers answered.

"It's time to roll out boys,"

"More come!" one of the Yemeni soldiers screamed.

The gate entrance became flooded with insurgents fighters who opened fire immediately.

"Whiskey Tango Foxtrot - where did they come from?"

"Get out of there now!" Fitz ordered.

"Yes sir," the captain replied.

They began throwing grenades in the direction of the fighters as they ran for cover. Along with the work of the snipers, they managed to clear the path to the helicopter.

"Standby for the package," the captain said to the medical helicopter that was waiting by the chinook.

Once Olivia was safely in the helicopter it took off, the soldiers stayed back for a couple of minutes to round-up Farrokh and his other associates dead and alive to make sure everyone was accounted for and then they headed out.

Everyone in the situation room began cheering the successful mission, everyone except Fitz.

"We got Farrokh! One of the biggest arms dealers in the Middle East, we got him," his defense secretary screamed.

Fitz waited for them to calm down before he began.

"What is the status of Dr. Pope?"

"She is en route to the navy base, they haven't given us any updates as of yet sir," one of the analyst answered.

"Anything happens and I want to know immediately and as soon as she's able, I want her on a plane, stateside."

"Yes sir."

"Good job ladies and gentlemen, good job, once those men are settled I want to thank them personally."

"Yes, Mr. President," his defense secretary answered.

Fitz went back to the oval to compose himself, Cyrus walked in seconds later. He found him pacing slowly by the window.

"I thought you'd be happy that- you got her back, after months of raids and reports, after months of you walking around like a goddamn zombie-"

"Did you see how she was shivering? She looked- I should have found her months ago."

"You did everything in your power to find her, the important thing is that she didn't die, she'll be back here soon and then you can go back to being a normal and productive human being."

"She's gonna hate me once she finds out what Gerry did, and that's if she doesn't know already and doesn't already hate me- how am I supposed to face her-"

"Calm down Fitz, just calm down and take a breath okay. Gerry died a month ago, so you don't have to lead with that, you don't even have to tell her if she doesn't know, you don't know what kind of state of mind she's gonna be in, maybe telling her wont do her any good."

"I'm not gonna lie to her and I'm not gonna be able to look at her, knowing what Gerry did to her."

Cyrus sighed.

"I understand that you feel guilty about what Gerry did but that can't be the first thing you say to her."

"I know, I know, I just can't believe we finally found her - thank you by the way."

"For what?" Cyrus asked.

"For helping me, you said you would help me and you did so... thank you."

Cyrus walked over and patted him on his shoulder.

"Ehh, what are friends for."

Fitz smiled half heartedly.

"Why don't you call her family and let them know you found her," Cyrus suggested.

"She doesn't have any family, well… she has a father but they weren't close."

"Yeah but I can't imagine her father not wanting to know his daughter is alive."

"Me either but he hasn't reached out to anyone to know if she's okay or not, if he did, I would have known, all her friends did."

"So call her friends."

"I will, I'm going to, I just want- I need to make sure she's alright first and then I'll let them know."

"Okay, well I'm gonna head back to me office to try to get some work done are you going to be okay if I leave you here?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

Fitz waited in the oval for just over an hour until one of the state department workers came to get him.

"Sir, we just spoke with the doctors and they want to transfer her on a military med plane to the US, they gave her a shot of adrenaline and they also gave her oxygen but they don't have all the equipment they need."

"Why does she need adrenaline and oxygen?"

"Sir, they said she had a very low blood pressure and that she wasn't breathing sufficiently."

Fitz became a little worried but tried to calm himself.

"Okay, tell them to take to her Andrews base and then airlift her to James Madison. If anything else comes up I expect you to come and tell me personally."

"Yes sir."

The next day.

Fitz waited impatiently in the hospital waiting room. She arrived early morning and now it was almost two in the afternoon and the doctors were still treating her and running tests. Fitz called Abby early in the morning and she drove four hours from New York with Harrison and Huck and had arrived shortly after noon. Fitz met Harrison on his second visit to see Abby after she was brought back to the states, he'd never met Huck before and Olivia never mentioned him either. When he met Abby for the first time, he felt like he practically knew her because Olivia talked so much about her, same with Harrison.

After waiting for another half hour Stephen finally emerged.

"Stephen what's going on?" Abby asked.

"Normally only family can visit if the patient hasn't given permission for non related visitors but I managed to convince them to break protocol since Olivia doesn't really have any family and also they didn't want to say no to the president."

"So we can see her now?" Fitz asked.

"Yes, I'll take you guys to her room, follow me," Stephen said.

They all followed Stephen to Olivia's room that was down the hall. Fitz froze when he walked into the room and saw Olivia.

"Why is she hooked up to a ventilator? What's going on?" Fitz asked frantically.

"She's not breathing sufficiently," Stephen answered.

"Why?" Abby asked.

"Can you tell me what's going on, the army doctors weren't exactly forthcoming," Fitz demanded.

"She has pneumonia and acute respiratory depression syndrome, we found a substantial amount of water in her lungs, that coupled with the cold environment she was kept in didn't do any favors for her lungs."

"Why is there water in her lungs?" Abby asked.

Stephen was hesitant to answer their questions.

"Stephen," Harrison scolded.

"Do we need to get another doctor in here?" Fitz asked.

"Stephen tell us!" Abby half-screamed.

"I can't share anything until she wakes up and gives me the okay."

"Stephen, Olivia is lying there on a ventilator, you better tell us what's going on right now."

Stephen threw his hands up emphatically.

"She's been tortured okay! They waterboarded her, that's why there was water in her lungs, she had bruises on her ribs, legs and arms from here they held her down and beat her. She has three broken ribs that haven't healed properly and they've barely been feeding her, she's suffering from severe malnutrition, if she had been there a couple more weeks her organs would've shut down and that just physically, we have no idea what's going on in her head or how bad the mental damage is."

"They've been torturing her?" Fitz asked as if he didn't want to believe it.

When he saw her on the ground in the white room, he knew it but he had been telling himself that it wasn't true.

"Yes but we won't know to what extent until she wakes up."

"So you haven't spoken to her?" Fitz asked.

"No but the army doctor that flew over with her deals with these kind of cases all the time and he was able to confirm it."

"When will she wake up?" Fitz asked.

"We can't be sure as yet, the medicine she's on will keep her sleeping for a while and that's good because her body needs a lot of rest and time to recover, for now we're just replenishing her strength by giving her a food drip."

"Thank you Dr. Finch," Fitz said sincerely.

Stephen nodded politely in response.

"You're welcome Mr. President,"

Stephen turned to Abby, Huck and Harrison.

"Don't touch her or I'll kick you guys out," he half-joked.

"Thanks Steph," said Abby.

Fitz waited patiently until visitation was over and Abby, Harrison and Huck had to leave. He'd been pretending to work while her friends were around but really, all he could think about was Olivia. Stephen was annoyed that he wasn't abiding by the visitation hours but there was nothing he could do about it so he gave up and left.

Once he was alone with Olivia, he walked over and sat on the chair beside her bed. Her took her hand in his and held it against his cheek. Her fingers were bony and felt frail against his skin. He laid his head on the edge of her bed and closed his eyes, he couldn't control the guilt and grief he felt over what happened to her.

"I'm so sorry, I promise I'll never let anything happen to you ever again, no one will hurt you ever again. I'm so glad you're home I think I was gonna lose my mind if you were away any longer."

Fitz sat by her bed the entire night and in the morning he gave her a kiss on the forehead and left, reluctantly. He didn't want to share his time with her so he stayed with her at nights when Abby, Harrison and Huck had to leave.

He actually quite enjoyed his time with her at nights, after missing her for so long, it felt good to just sit beside her and listen to her breathe and watch her sleep while he did his work. After five days in the hospital, the dark circle under her eyes were vanishing and she didn't look as pale as before.

As the minutes, hours and days went by, her breathing dramatically improved; enough that after a week, her doctors took her off the ventilator and then it was just about waiting for her medication to wear off so that she could wake up.


	25. Chapter 25

Fitz was in the middle of his security meeting; they were debating what interrogation methods to use on Farrokh, who was being held at the base in Iraq. He was confused as to what significance Olivia held to him and why the men Gerry hired gave her to Farrokh to begin with. If they knew about their relationship, they surely would have made it public or at least demanded a ransom but instead they kept her hidden for months, he knew it had to be something else and he really wanted to hear what Olivia had to say before he went forward with Farrokh.

In the middle of the meeting in the oval office, Tom came to summon him, he didn't exactly have to say anything, he just gave Fitz a nod and Fitz immediately adjourned the meeting and quickly walked over to Tom.

"Did something happen? Is she alright?" he asked quickly.

"Sir she's awake."

"She's awake?"

"Yes sir."

"What are you waiting for Tom, let's go," Fitz said as he hurried through the door.

Within 20 minutes Fitz was at the hospital, hurrying down the hall to see her. As he was nearing her room he was surprised to find Abby, Huck and Harrison sitting in the waiting area instead of in her room.

"Did she fall asleep or something? Why are you waiting out here?" Fitz asked Abby.

Abby opened her mouth to answer but then didn't, Fitz was confused.

"The doctor kicked us out, they are waiting for the psychiatrist to examine her," Harrison said.

"Why do you have to be kicked out for that?"

Fitz didn't bother waiting for an answer, he headed to Olivia's room door and as he got closer a female doctor appeared and tried to block him.

"Mr. President, I'm sorry, you can't go in there?"

"Lady, get lost," Fitz said dismissively as he walked past her and opened Olivia's room door.

When he walked in, she was sitting up with her back against the mountain of pillows on her bed, staring at nothing in particular. She didn't seemed to notice that he was in the room, she just kept staring blankly, crying.

"Livie?"

She jumped, seemingly frightened by the fact that he was in the room. Fitz stepped back a little, he was troubled by the fact that she didn't seem to recognize him at all.

"Liv, it's me, Fitz," he said softly.

He stepped a little closer and she jumped back.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said with his hands up.

Immediately Stephen and two other doctors burst into the room.

"Mr. President, I'm going to have to ask you to leave," Stephen ordered.

"What happened to her?" Fitz asked, ignoring Stephen.

"Mr. President, you have to leave right now," Stephen said again and this time, he personally led Fitz out of the room and they were followed by the doctor that had tried to block Fitz from the room. The only doctor left in the room with Olivia was the psychiatrist.

"I'm Dr. Caroline Jennings, but you can call me Caroline. I'm here to help you, you don't have to be afraid, no one here will hurt you," she said softly.

"I'm here to help you figure out what's going on, I know you're scared and confused, and I know you might be in slight pain so let me know if you need more painkillers."

Olivia didn't say a word, she just stared at the doctor.

"Olivia, are you in any pain, do you need painkillers?"

Olivia still didn't respond.

"Olivia please, you can talk to me, this is a safe environment."

After half an hour of trying to get a response from Olivia, Dr. Jennings decided to take a different approach.

"Okay, Olivia just sit tight for a moment, I'll return shortly,"

Dr. Jennings exited the room and was immediately swarmed by Stephen, Fitz, Abby, Harrison and Huck.

"What's going on Dr. Jennings?" Stephen asked.

"She won't speak to me, she's obviously very afraid, there's a lot of trauma there. After two months of isolation she needs to see familiar faces so I would recommend that you guys keep her company."

"So we should all sit with her?" Abby asked.

"Yeah, just interact how you would normally and eventually she'll feel comfortable enough to open up," said Dr. Jennings.

By the time they went back to Olivia's room, she was standing by the window, Stephen ran over to her.

"Liv, are you crazy, you need to rest, you can't be standing by yourself like that,"

He held on to her hand and she pulled it away. She still had the drips hooked up to her arm and her IV stand was right beside her, Stephen held his hands up to show he meant no harm.

"Let me help you back to your bed," he suggested.

Dr. Jennings walked over to Olivia and pushed a chair behind her so she could sit and look through the window and then pulled Stephen away.

"She's weak, she needs to be in bed," Stephen insisted.

"She's also been stuck in a room for two months, she needs to see outside, it will only help."

Stephen nodded and walked over to Fitz, Abby, Huck and Harrison, they all stood by the door, unsure of what to do.

Dr. Jennings walked over to them.

"Act normal, your presence in the room is enough to comfort her," she instructed.

They all stood looking at each other wondering who was going to try and talk to her first.

"I'll talk to her," Abby said quietly as she walked over to Olivia and knelt next to her.

"Hey Liv, it's me Abby, your best friend," she said nervously.

Olivia was still staring through the window, Abby looked at Dr. Jennings who encouraged her to go on.

"I missed you, I mean we all really missed you - you know what, you must be hungry, what do you want to eat- it doesn't matter I'm just gonna go out and buy everything you like and then we could decide."

Just then, Abby took off crying, Harrison went after and caught her half way down the hall.

"Abby what's wrong?"

"I'm a terrible friend, I shouldn't have left her there, I should have stayed with her because she would have stayed with me."

"Abby if you didn't escape you would have died and she still would have been there, you know that," said Harrison.

"I know, I just- I wish I could have helped her but I couldn't so now I'm gonna go buy her food or whatever I can find that might make her feel better."

"Okay, just hurry back okay."

"I know, I will."

Harrison let her go and went back to Olivia's room.

He sat quietly on the small couch with Fitz watching Olivia, ever so often she would move or cough but for the most part, she was still.

Abby came back an hour later with bags of food and snacks.

"Hey Liv, I brought food from this mexican place down the street, I know how much you like mexican food. Stephen said you should start eating solids."

Abby tried to hand her the food but Olivia didn't take it.

Abby placed it on the windowsill.

"Okay, I'm just gonna leave it here and whenever you're ready, you can eat it, okay."

Abby pulled up a chair and sat quietly beside her.

Fitz had to leave at noon to take care of White House business but was able to come back late in the night.

He found Abby sleeping on the couch and Olivia was still by the window.

He walked over slowly and sat in the empty chair beside her. He still hadn't said a word to her since he saw her earlier and he still wasn't sure what to say so he just sat quietly beside her and continued reading his briefings.

He tried to stay up waiting for her to sleep but when she didn't, he found that as tired as he was, sleep wouldn't come. It wasn't until 6 in the morning that he dozed off for a almost on hour and woke up to the sound of soft sobbing.

He looked over to Olivia who was sitting exactly as he had left her when he fell asleep, only she was crying.

He instinctively tried to reach out and comfort her but she pulled away and turned her face away from him. He had no idea what to say and as he was trying to decide what to do Dr. Jennings walked in.

"Good morning Mr. President."

"She crying, I- don't know what to do," said Fitz immediately as the Dr. walked in.

She nodded.

"Can I have the room?" the doctor asked.

"Sure."

He looked at Olivia one last time before he woke Abby and they both went to stand in the hall.

Dr. Jennings walked over to the chair beside Olivia and sat down.

"Olivia can you tell me why you are crying?" she asked.

After a long pause, Olivia answered.

"I- don't know if this is real or if I made it up in my head? I can't tell anymore," she said as she tried to sniffle her way through an intelligible sentence.

"This is real, I promise you, you didn't make it up? You were rescued more than a week ago, you are at the James Madison hospital in Washington DC, you are in America and the people who were holding you prisoner have all been captured," she paused, "Olivia can you tell me what you meant when you said you can't tell if something is real or made up?"

"Can I have some water?"

"Sure, absolutely."

Dr. Jennings walked quickly to the door and called Stephen who had just arrived for his shift.

"Can I have some water for her?"

"Sure, one sec."

Within seconds Stephen was back with a bottle of water and gave it to Dr. Jennings. She brought it back to Olivia. Olivia took the water and eyed it suspiciously and then handed it back to the doctor.

"Is there a problem with the water?"

"I'm just not thirsty anymore,"

"Can you tell me what you meant when you said you can't tell if something is real or made up?"

"I don't know."

"I read your file Olivia, you have an infallible memory, do you think being held prisoner for so long is what caused you to not know."

"I don't know," Olivia said as she shook her head.

"Okay, let's start with something simple; why don't you think this is real?"

Dr. Jennings watched as Olivia stared through the window and more tears began streaming down her face.

"It's just that I've been disappointed before, I had dreams like is before and I believed that I was rescued before but I was dreaming or hallucinating and I don't want that to happen again."

"I promise you, you are not dreaming. Look outside, look at all those people down there, this is real."

The doctor paused.

"Can you tell me what happened to you?"

Olivia took a deep breath.

"They kept me in a white room, there were bright lights shining from the ceiling, there was a shower, it was white, so was the toilet and sink. There was no bed, just the floor and it was always cold."

"What was that like for you?"

Olivia felt a anxiety attack coming on from the flash of memories that came back from her experience in the room, she started heaving uncontrollably.

"I- I don't want to talk about it anymore," she stammered.

"Breathe," Caroline said as she rubbed her back gently.

"Your memories are going to be intense, so intense that you may feel like your still there, you have to reign them in or shut them out."

"I can't!"

At this point she was crying hysterically and everyone outside the room could hear.

Fitz was standing halfway between Stephen and Olivia's door.

"What's going on in here?" Fitz asked nervously.

"You can't go in there, let the psychiatrist handle it," Stephen warned.

The elephant in the room was why Fitz seemed so attached to Olivia. It puzzled Stephen, Harrison and Huck who had arrived to the hospital just minutes before. Harrison kept asking Abby what was going on but she deflected as much as she could, Huck kept his questions to himself.

"Is she going to be okay? I mean, in your professional opinion?" He asked Stephen.

"Her physical injuries will heal, mentally though, I'm worried. According to the army doctor, they used white torture and the mental impact of that on a normal person is detrimental so I can't imagine what it did to Olivia. Her brain is hyperactive at best, she's constantly calculating, thinking, doing multiple things in her head at once and she needs constant stimulation or else she'll consume herself, I can't be sure how bad until I hear what the psychiatrist says but based on the fact that she didn't even seemed to recognize any one of us or maybe she just didn't want to, I don't know, I need the evaluation to know how bad it is."

"Do you think she'll ever be able to get past this?" Fitz asked hesitantly.

"I don't know."

"All the resources in the world and it still took almost three months to find her," Fitz said more to himself than Stephen.

"I'm not sure what we would've done without your help, she would've still been out there so I'm thankful that you found her at all."

In the middle of their bonding moment Dr. Jennings walked out of Olivia's hospital room. Stephen quickly walked over to her.

"What's going on Dr. Jennings?" Stephen was the first to ask.

The doctor pulled him aside from everyone and spoke with him for a few moments and then excused herself.

"What did she say?" Abby asked as Stephen walked back over to them.

"She doesn't want you guys seeing her, not for the rest of the day."

"Why not, yesterday she said she needed to familiarize herself with us. I don't think she should be alone at a time like this," Fitz retorted.

"She isn't, Dr. Jennings will be examining her for the rest of the day and most likely until she leaves the hospital. You guys should go and get some rest, I'll let you guys know if anything comes up."

"Stephen come on, I'm a doctor-" Abby protested.

"I know Abby but you don't work at this hospital, I do and Olivia is my patient, I can't let you guys see her because that won't help her right now, I'm sorry."

Abby sighed.

"I want updates every hour, on the hour," she demanded.

"I swear," Stephen agreed.

Abby was about to walk away with Huck and Harrison but then she stopped.

"Can we just see her?"

"Abby no."

"Fine," she said as she strutted off.

Stephen turned to face Fitz who'd didn't seem to indicate that he had any intention of leaving.

"Mr. President, I'm sorry, I can't let you see her either."

"Just let me see her for a moment, I won't say anything to disturb her, I just need to see her then I'll leave."

"I'm sorry, I can't-"

"I'm asking nicely Dr. Finch."

Stephen realized that it was really a question, he shrugged and took Fitz to her door. Stephen opened the door slightly and moved aside so Fitz could see inside.

She was sitting by the window, staring outside. She didn't notice that the door was slightly open or if she did know that it was open, she didn't care enough to acknowledge it. Even though he couldn't see her face, he could tell she was still crying because she kept wiping under her eyes.

"Sir?" Stephen called quietly to break Fitz's attention away from her.

Fitz closed the door quietly.

"Thanks Dr. Finch."

"No worries Sir."

Fitz gave Stephen a polite nod and then headed back to the White House.

Olivia felt someone staring at her but she didn't want to face anyone as yet so she pretended not to notice. Moments later, she heard the door open again but this time it was Dr. Jennings.

"Olivia, I'm back," she said as she walked to the window.

"Where did you go?"

"I needed to make some preparations for you with the nurses that's all?"

Olivia turned around to face her?

"What preparations?"

"Don't worry, it's just logistics that's all."

Olivia nodded and turned back to the window.

"We sent your friends home, they'll be back tomorrow."

Caroline waited for her to respond and when she didn't, she decided to press on.

"Olivia now that we are alone, is it alright for me to ask you some more questions?"

"How often were you fed?"

"Does it matter?"

"It does, we need to know the conditions you were kept under, that will help us to determine how to help you. We can take it one question at a time, you answer the ones you feel comfortable with and any you don't want to answer we can skip, how does that sound?"

Olivia nodded.

"Okay, how often were you fed?"

"They fed me pills and supplements, sometimes they would give me rice."

"Just rice?"

She nodded.

"You said they kept you in a white room, did they ever let you out?"

She shook her head.

"Olivia were you ever sexually assaulted?"

She shook her head again.

"Are you sure? Did you ever blackout, could it have happened then?"

"It didn't- at least- I- hope it didn't, I would've known."

"Your chest x-ray revealed that you have three broken ribs, how did you get that injury?"

"They kicked me."

"Did they hurt you often?"

"I- don't want to talk about it anymore."

Dr. Jennings paused.

"How do you feel Olivia?"

"What do you mean?"

"How do you feel, are you happy you were rescued? Sad, you were taken in the first place? Angry? Grateful? How are you doing?"

Olivia lips began to tremble.

"I feel sad."

"Why do you feel sad?"

"I feel sad that this happened to me."

Dr. Jennings caressed her back.

"That's good, that's a start, admitting your feelings is the first step to healing."

Olivia nodded.

"Doctor, I'm really tired and I'd like to go lay down."

"Sure, I'll let you rest for a while and we can talk a little bit more later on?"

"Okay."

Dr. Jennings helped her over to her bed and once Olivia was settled, she headed out.


	26. Chapter 26

The next morning when Fitz woke up and readied himself, he pushed back his early briefing and headed straight to the hospital. Stephen told him that they were allowed to see Olivia again and he was nervous; the last time he saw her, she barely acknowledged him and that worried him, he also wondered if she knew about Gerry's part in the kidnapping. The CIA had been dying to speak to her since she came back, they wanted to wring as much information out of as possible but her doctors ordered them to stay away until her psychiatric evaluation was finished. Late the night before, her psychiatrist gave them the go ahead so a few CIA agents were going to meet him at the hospital to question her. He was worried about what she would have to say and more so worried about the trauma she suffered while there.

When he arrived at the hospital, Abby and her crew weren't there which made him happy because he would get to be alone with her. His joy was short lived because as he was walking to her door, Stephen emerged from the opposite end of the hallway.

"Mr. President, good morning, you're here early, I was just about to go see her."

"How was she last night?" Fitz asked.

"Well she's talking again and according to the nurse she slept all night."

Fitz smiled sadly.

"That's good right?"

"Yeah well, let's see how she's actually doing," Stephen said with a smile as he led the way into Olivia's room.

She was sitting on a chair by the window wrapped up in a blanket. She was staring through the window once again and appeared to either be ignoring the fact that they were there or hadn't realized that they were there.

"Liv?" Stephen called.

She didn't answer.

"Liv?" He said again as he walked closer to her.

"Liv?"

He tapped her on her shoulder and she jumped out of her chair, completely terrified. Stephen held up his hands to show her he meant no harm.

"I was calling you and you weren't answering," he said softly.

She was visibly shaken and out of breath, her eyes were red and puffy, she looked as if she hadn't slept all night.

"I- I didn't hear you," she stammered.

She looked at Fitz who was frozen where he stood and then Stephen who was approaching her again.

"Don't touch me."

Stephen stood back.

"Olivia you shouldn't be out of bed, you have pneumonia for Christ sake, you need to rest and by the looks of it you haven't slept all night, let me help you to your bed."

"I'm not tired."

"You are tired and you've been crying, let me help you back to your bed and we can talk," Stephen offered.

"No, I'm not moving," she insisted.

Stephen didn't want to upset her further so he decided to back down.

"Okay, you can stay by the window, I'm sorry if I frightened you by the way," Stephen said jokingly.

"It's okay," she said as she sat on her chair and began staring through the window again.

"So…" Stephen began.

"Is there any pain? Any discomfort?"

"No."

"You also haven't been coughing as much right?"

"No."

"Good that means your getting better fast, we're going to get you some solid food today, I know how much you like food, right?" Stephen joked again.

She was practically ignoring him at this point and he wasn't sure how to continue.

"Some intelligence officials are coming to speak with you in a few minutes, I just wanted you to be prepared for that."

"I'm not talking to anyone."

Stephen looked at Fitz a little unsure of what to say next.

"Okay, how about we just cross that bridge when we get there."

"I'm not speaking with them," she said again.

Stephen decided to change the subject.

"Okay, how about migraines, any migraines since you woke up?"

"No,"

"That's good-"

"Stephen I just want to be alone right now, leave me alone."

"Olivia you need to talk to us, Dr. Jennings said you need to talk-"

Stephen was cut off by Tom opening the door. Two gentlemen dressed in suits stood directly behind him.

"Sir, the intelligence officers are here," said Tom.

"Tom tell them to wait," said Fitz.

"Yes sir."

"Dr. Finch can you give us a minute?" Fitz asked even though it wasn't really a question.

"Uh sure, I'll be right outside," Stephen said as he left.

Fitz treaded carefully, he didn't want to scare her or make her feel uncomfortable. He walked closer and sat in the chair that was directly beside her.

He felt nervous, like he didn't know her. He could see how vulnerable and afraid she was and all he wanted to do was to take her fear and pain away and make her feel safe.

He pulled his chair closer and took her hands in his, he waited for her to pull away but she didn't.

"Welcome home," he said softly.

Tears started flowing down her cheeks, she'd been waiting months to hear those words from him and it felt so much better than she imagined it ever could.

"I don't want to talk to them."

"Will you talk to me?"

She nodded.

Fitz kissed her hand and wiped away the tears that ran down her cheek.

"You don't have to answer anything you don't want to."

She nodded again.

Fitz took a deep breath.

"My father paid those men to kidnap you," he said it slowly and carefully to give her time to process it and gauge her reaction.

"I didn't want that to be the first thing I told you but I didn't want to keep it from you."

She seemed sad, not surprised.

"How did you know?" He asked shakily.

"They told me."

"I'm so sorry Olivia, if I had known-"

"It's not your fault."

"No, it is, you should hate me, look at what they did to you-"

"I don't hate you."

She stared at him for a while, after months of not seeing his face and believing that she had somehow dreamt him up she wanted to take a moment to appreciate that he was sitting directly in front of her. His eyes were filled with water and when a lone tear escaped and fell down his cheeks, she wiped it away.

They sat quietly for a while until Tom knocked the door, Fitz knew it was him by his silhouette.

"Tom?" He called.

Tom opened the door and walked in.

"Sir, the intelligence officers are requesting to speak with miss Pope, they say it is imperative-"

"Tom no," Fitz demanded.

"Sir-"

"I'm not talking to them," Olivia said softly from her seat by the window.

"Tell them she isn't feeling well and she won't be speaking with them today."

"Yes sir," Tom said with a nod as he closed the door.

Fitz turned his attention back to Olivia.

"Can you tell me what happened Liv?"

She turned back to the window and looked down at the people going about their business.

"Farrokh is a mobster, he doesn't do anything unless money is involved, there was no ransom, why would he keep you hidden for three months?"

She took a deep breath.

"He wanted to attack New York, he thought if he could get me to make him the chemical I used to make the prototype bomb I did 15 years ago then he could sneak it through customs and install barrels of it within the subway system, if he had enough of the chemical and detonated it all at once then he could level most of the city."

Fitz had to take a moment to form a coherent sentence from all the thoughts that were scattered in his head.

"Farrokh took you because he wanted you to build a bomb, how did he know - unless-"

"He worked with my father, my dad had me followed across Asia and then Africa, he had his men take because he thought Gerry was paying them to, when really he was going to take me all along he just thought he'd let Gerry pay for it. He made a deal with Farookh, they paid him and he handed me over, he said that if I just gave them what they wanted, then the'd let me go. They tried everything to get me to help them, sometimes I pretended to try so they wouldn't hurt me for a couple days."

Olivia was still looking through the window and although her eyes were filled with water, she kept them focused on the people walking around outside. She didn't see the expression on his face but based on the fact that he was silent, it wasn't hard to guess.

"Shocked? You shouldn't be, your father is just as bad, only he wouldn't hurt his own son and it makes me wonder what it is about my father me that makes him hate me so much that he would do this to me."

Fitz tried to reach out touch her but she pulled her hand away.

"What did they do to you Olivia?"

"Does it matter? It's already done."

"Liv-"

"Please don't ask me to talk about."

"I'm sorry."

Realized that she might have hurt his feelings when she pulled her hand away, she reached out and took his hand and pressed his palm against her cheek and closed her eyes then she felt his lips on her forehead.

He kissed her softly and then rested his forehead against hers.

"You are so strong and so brave."

He could feel drops of tears running down her cheeks.

"And I wish I could have found you sooner, I'm so sorry I didn't and I'll only ever make you one promise, and it's that I'll kill every last person that did this to you."

She looked led up at him.

"What about your father?"

"Don't worry about him, he's dead-…"

Just then Abby walked into the room and her mouth fell open and curved into a small nervous smile. It was awkward for her to see Olivia and Fitz together.

"I'm sorry - Stephen said you were doing better and so I wanted to see for myself."

Abby stood awkwardly.

"Umm can I hug you?" She asked Olivia.

Olivia wiped her eyes and nodded. Abby practically sprinted over to her to hugged her tightly.

"I'm so glad you're home."

"Abby too tight-"

"What?" Abby said as she pulled away.

"You were hugging me too tight, I couldn't breathe."

"Sorry," Abby said with a smile.

"It's okay."

Abby held onto her hands.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what to say, I'm just glad you're back, I really missed you."

"I really missed you too," Olivia said softly.

Abby squealed and grabbed on to her again and hugged her.

"I'm gonna go buy us some breakfast okay, and then we can talk when I get back."

"Okay."

"I'll be right back."

Abby left quickly leaving Olivia and Fitz alone again. As soon as they thought they were alone Harrison and Huck walked in.

"Liv?" Harrison said as he walked in with Huck in tow.

"Harry."

"Hey Liv, looks who up? C'mere girl, give me a hug," Harrison joked.

He walked over and hugged her and he was surprised by how frail she felt.

"You are 10 pounds away from disappearing girl," he teased.

"I've missed you too."

She stretched out her arms and Huck walked over shyly and hugged her.

"I'm glad you're back Liv."

She didn't know what to say so she just nodded.

They sat on the couch and after a while it was a little awkward because no one said anything.

A half hour later Abby was back with food.

"Okay, I pretty much got everything they had. Liv, I got you a Belgian waffle with strawberry and whipped cream and a whole bunch of bacon. Everybody else, fend for yourselves, I got you guys egg sandwiches."

Abby handed Olivia a paper box with her food and then placed the bag of food on the table.

"Help yourselves everyone."

Olivia opened the box and looked at the food in front of her.

"I'm not really hungry,"

"Are you sure?"

"Mhmm," she said quickly.

She took a deep breath and then started breathing quickly.

She was beginning to have very frequent anxiety attacks.

"Liv are you okay?" Fitz asked.

"I-I need to be alone."

Fitz looked to Abby, Huck and Harrison.

"Can you give us a minute?"

"Sure," Abby answered reluctantly.

They left quickly leaving Fitz and Olivia alone again.

He caressed her cheek and took her hands in his.

"Hey, you're okay, you're safe. I know it's gonna be hard to feel normal again-"

Tom burst into the room.

"Mr. President-"

"Does no one knock?"

"Sorry sir but you need to come, we have a situation."

"A situation? How bad is it?"

"It needs your immediate attention sir."

Fitz sighed.

"Tom give me one second,"

Tom exited quickly.

"I'm so sorry Liv, I have to go take care of this."

He said as he stood up from his chair.

"You're leaving?"

"I'm sorry-"

"Of course you're leaving."

"I'll be back as soon as I can. I'm so sorry."

He kissed on the forehead and then rushed out quickly to Tom.

"What the hell happened Tom?"

"Sir, militants stormed the Iraqi military base, they tried to rescue Farrokh."

"What? When?"

"The report came in moments ago."

"They still have him right?"

"Yes sir."

At this point they were rushing to the car.

"Any casualties on our side?"

"No sir, though there were some injuries."

"Thank god. I want him transferred here now and I need you to make sure all the top intelligence agents are waiting for me in the situation room. I need them to find someone..."

Once Abby saw Fitz rush out of the room, she went in.

"Liv what's going on?"

"Nothing."

"Okay well, I'm gonna hang here with you, if you wanna talk or anything."

"I'm fine."

"Okay but I just want to cheer you up so if you need anything, just let me know."

I'm fine," she said curtly.

She could see the disappointment in Abby face.

"Actually you can tell me what's been going on since I've been gone."

She sniffled and wiped her eyes and tried to smile.

"Really?" Abby said excitedly.

"Yeah, what have I missed?"

"Well first, I just wanted to let you know that I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left you there, I was so scared I thought that if I was able to get help that they would find you but I was wrong and I'm sorry that they hurt you and I don't want to bring up anything you don't want to talk about, I've just been feeling so guilty that I just haven't been able to stand to even look at myself."

"Abby, I just want to forget this whole thing happened and I can't do that but I can try. I don't want you feeling guilty for doing what I asked you to because the only other option would be that you would have been killed, I don't want you feeling sorry for me either, I just want you to help me feel normal again, can you do that for me?"

Abby smiled with tears in her eyes.

"Okay you want normal?"

"Yeah."

"Okay well I started dating Paul again."

"What?" she said softly, but still shocked.

Abby laughed.

"I'm just kidding that was a test."

Olivia smiled.

"The apartment is disgusting by the way, everything's been so crazy…"

Abby, Huck and Harrison talked Olivia's ear off for hours, more so Harrison and Abby than Huck. Dr. Jennings also spent a great deal of time talking with her and by the time Fitz came back to the hospital it was almost midnight.

Abby was sitting on the bed polishing Olivia's toes. He smiled at the sight.

"Hey Liv, are you still angry with me?"

He said as he walked over to her bed.

"I wasn't angry with you."

He smiled and handed her a pink box.

"I got you some cupcakes. I think you'll like them, I ate one on my way here, it was good."

He kissed her on the cheek.

Abby's mouth dropped open and curved into a smile as she gave Olivia a wink. Huck and Harrison were sleeping on the couch completely oblivious to what was going on.

"What happened earlier?" Olivia asked him.

"Nothing you need to worry your pretty little head about sweetheart."

Fitz sat in the chair beside her bed.

"So can I get my toes done too."

Olivia smiled, it was the first time he'd seen her smile since she woke up, it was a small smile but a smile nonetheless. It made him smile.

"What color?"

"Well I'm a republican so red, I know Gabbygail doesn't like that."

"Did you just call me 'Gabbygail'?"

"Gabbygail, that's what I'm gonna call you from now on okay."

"Haha so funny," Abby said with a chuckle.

Olivia smiled as Abby finished up her pedicure.

"All done, don't mess them up," Abby warned.

"Okay."

Olivia laid with her legs hanging of the bed so the polish on her toenails could dry. A few moments later, Abby was curled up asleep on the end of her bed.

"It's after midnight Livie, aren't you tired, you didn't sleep last night."

"I'm not tired."

"Are you sure Olivia?"

"I'm not tired, I'm sure."

"I'm sorry I had to leave today."

"You're the president, it's fine."

Fitz could sense that she was disappointed.

"Did you eat anything after I left?"

"I wasn't hungry."

"Liv, you've been back for almost a week now and I haven't seen you eat anything."

"I don't have to eat anything Fitz, I have a needle in my arm that's giving me food."

"You wouldn't need that if you ate something."

She didn't answer.

"How are you feeling?"

She started to get teary eyed.

"I just spent almost three months in hell. I can't imagine anything worse happening to me than what happened there and just want to feel normal."

"You're not eating or sleeping, that's not normal."

"I- just, I'm trying, I can't sleep because everytime I close my eyes I'm feel like I'm there again."

He took her hand and kissed it.

"I hate it when you're in pain, just let me know what you need me to do for you and I'll try my best to do it okay. I love you so much and I just want you to feel safe again."

The tears streamed down her face as she smiled.

"I love you too."

"Enough to eat one of those cupcakes…"

She sighed.

"Okay, I'll try one."

Fitz smiled widely and opened the box on her lap.

"There is vanilla, red velvet and chocolate, which one?"

She pretended to think about her choices.

"Vanilla."

He picked up a vanilla cupcake and put it at her lips. She opened her mouth slightly and bit a small piece.

"Yum," he teased.

There was a small amount of icing on her nose. He wiped it off.

"Was it good?"

"Yeah."

"Do you want the rest of the cupcake."

"no."

Fitz chuckled.

"Okay, well at least you had a little."

He was beyond tired and as hard as he tried to stay up he couldn't and after a few hours of talking about his son Gerry and Kenna and other mundane things that Olivia seemed interested in hearing, he was knocked out.

He held her hand as he slept and Olivia stayed up all night listening to him snore lightly and watching him sleep.


	27. Chapter 27

The next morning

It was early morning and sunlight began to peer through the windows, she knew it was time to wake Fitz but he was sleeping so peacefully, she thought she would let him sleep a while longer. He had held onto her hand all night as he slept and that comforted her in ways she couldn't describe and she thought that maybe with him holding her hand she could try to sleep but she couldn't.  
She wasn't in pain, physically; no doubt it was the pain medication and the intravenous food line she'd been hooked up to for the past week. She felt stronger because the pneumonia was clearing up but still incredibly drained because she hadn't slept in two days. Her eyes felt heavy as lead, she was exhausted and she needed sleep but the consequence of that sleep would be nightmares that would take her back to a place she never wanted to be again.  
It still hadn't really sunk in the she had been rescued. She still felt like at any moment she could wake up and end up in the white room surrounded by white walls and that made her anxious. The hospital room was beginning to wear on her too, it was bland and colorless and only served to remind her of the room she was stuck in for three months.  
She felt lousy and lethargic so she pulled the sheets off her legs and sat up. She also got tired of the needles in her arm so she pulled them out and used the bandage to clean up the small amount of blood that leaked through her vein.  
Once she wasn't tangled to the IV stand anymore she hopped off the bed and stood right infront of Fitz. She was still holding onto his hand as she hovered over him and caressed his face and took a moment to gaze at him even though she had spent all night watching him sleep. She leaned over and kissed him lightly on his lips because she wanted to see if it would feel the same as before and it didn't, it was frightening, which sent her heart racing so fast that she practically ran over to the window, a little scared that he'd wake up and know she kissed him. Once she was by the window she turned and looked at him, he shuffled a little but he was still asleep, she felt ridiculous for being afraid to kiss him but after more than three months of being surrounded by abusive men; projecting their behavior on him was something that was bound to happen.  
It was just after dawn and people were just beginning to go about their business. She thought about the fact that she used to be just like the people outside, she would run around early or late, to and from surgery with her coffee in hand and now it seemed like a lifetime ago. She had no idea when she would be functional enough to be the surgeon she once was. She didn't know how the ptsd would affect her once she left the hospital and she didn't want to think about it but she knew it would happen. She didn't know if she would ever be able to be normal with Fitz again, if she could ever intimate with him again, if barely pecking him on the lips when he was asleep freaked her out she wasn't sure what she was going to do when he actually kissed her, she didn't know how she would feel, if she would feel attacked? He'd been very careful and she could sense it, he kissed her on her cheek, forehead and hand but he avoided her lips and she didn't know whether to be thankful that he was being considerate to her particularly sensitive situation or worried that he didn't want to kiss her because to him she was now some poor thing to feel sorry for.  
She was so deep in thought that she didn't hear Fitz calling her until he was right beside her.  
"Liv, I was calling you."  
"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you," she said softly.  
"It's okay sweetie, I just wanted to make sure you were okay."  
She smiled and even though she wasn't looking at him, he could feel her smile.  
"Good morning."  
"Morning Livie, did you sleep?"  
"You have to leave soon, you're the president, you have work to do, I was gonna wake you but you seemed so tired, I wanted to let you sleep a little longer."  
"You're deflecting."  
"I think I might be able to go home tomorrow, maybe even today, the pneumonia is clearing up and as long as I take my antibiotics, it'll be completely gone within a week or so. I feel better everyday,"  
"You haven't slept in two days and you can't feel your injuries because you've been getting a constant dose of painkillers since you've been here."  
He thought about his tone and hoped he wasn't too harsh.  
"I just really think you should get some rest."  
"I'll sleep today when you're gone, I promise."  
"How are you so sure I'll leave?" He teased.  
"Because I'll kick you out."  
He smiled and got a little caught up by the fact that she was communicating with him so well.  
"Very funny Liv."  
He noticed her eyes were fixed outside, once again and she was a little stiff as if she didn't want to be touched.  
"You okay Liv?"  
She looked at him briefly and then turned back to the window.  
"Yeah, it's just that it's so easy to take for granted the small things; like the sound of another voice or feeling warm even looking up at the sky. You don't really think twice about them because you think they are owed to you but they are not and you never really appreciate it until you don't have it anymore."  
"You aren't there anymore, they can't take anything from you anymore."  
"That's where you're already took everything from me; my peace of mind, my sanity, everything about me that made me feel like me, is gone. The only thing they left me with was my life and they were gonna take that too and they should have, it would have been so much easier to just end it."  
"Don't say that-"  
"Why? I feel like stranger in my own body, I'm never gonna be who I was and you know what; I liked who I was, I wasn't afraid of anything and now I'm terrified of everything and everyone all the time-"  
"You're safe-"  
"Not from my own mind."  
By now the tears were flowing and she turned her face and wiped her eyes, slightly embarrassed that she couldn't control her need to constantly cry.  
"I'm such an idiot, this is all my fault and I know I shouldn't say that but it just feels like it is."  
"None of this is your fault and you know it, if this is anyone's fault then it's mine, I should have seen this coming, I should have prevented it."  
His voice was getting a little shaky because it was really bothering him that she was thinking that way.  
"'You're not god', you said to me once remember."  
She paused and wiped her eyes.  
"Fitz, no matter what you say, you know it's true, if I never built that bomb, this wouldn't have happened, it's the truth and there's nothing wrong with the truth."  
"Olivia-"  
"You should go, I'm sure you have work to do."  
"I'm not leaving."  
"I want you to go," she doubled down.  
She was feeling cornered, she wasn't sure if it was Fitz or being stuck in the same hospital room for so long but she was feeling anxious and panicky.  
"Why because I'm telling you not to hate yourself."  
"Because you're telling me that everything's going to be okay and it's not!"  
She almost screamed but she caught herself. Stephen walked in on them in that moment and for once Fitz was thankful for Stephen's timing because he didn't want their argument to go any further.  
"Good morning," Stephen said to both Fitz and Olivia.  
Olivia took a deep breath to try to take herself out of the anger she was feeling at Fitz for trying to help her which she knew was ridiculous on her part but that was how she felt.  
"Hi Stephen," she as she turned and faced him.  
Stephen walked a little closer and inspected her face.  
"Liv you still haven't slept. You know I'm going to have to give you something to put you to sleep for a few hours right?"  
"I don't want to sleep Stephen, I told you that, why does everyone keep trying to get me to sleep, when I want to go to sleep, I'll sleep."  
"Liv I was going to recommend that you be discharged tomorrow but if you are unwilling to sleep, I can't do that."  
Fitz panicked a little, he really didn't think she was mentally well enough to be discharged.  
"Woah, are you sure she's ready to be discharged, I mean mentally-"  
"She won't get better mentally if she's stuck here, she'll have to re-enter the world and try to sublimate, she will need the help of a therapist but as long as she's physically well, I can't keep her here."  
"So if I sleep, I can leave?"  
"Yes but why haven't you been able to sleep?" Stephen asked.  
"She was-" Fitz started but Olivia cut him off.  
"I've just been really anxious that's all," she lied, "but I'm sure if you give me something, I'll fall right asleep."  
She tried to sound as pleasant as possible, she even tried adding a smile which Stephen seemed to buy based on the broad smile on his face.  
"Okay, I'll be right back, once you're asleep we're gonna check out your lungs just to see how their coming along, but honestly the last time they were fine so I'm sure you'll be okay again and I'm also going to put you on a diet once you are discharged, I need you eating a thousand extra calories a day to help you gain weight. I also want you snacking throughout the day, nuts, fruits etc."  
"Okay."  
Stephen chuckled at himself, he knew he was being a little overbearing.  
"I'm sorry, I know you're a doctor and you know how to take care of yourself but you're also one of closest friends and I just want to make sure you're okay when you leave here."  
"It's okay Stephen."  
"Okay, let's kick Abby off your bed so you can sleep but first let me get you something to help you sleep."  
"What are you going to give me?"  
"Diazepam and a little morphine so you'll have beautiful dreams while you sleep."  
"Or horrible nightmares."  
"Or beautiful dreams," Stephen teased lightly with a smile, "sit tight, I'll be right back."  
Stephen left shortly after.  
Fitz turned to Olivia, he could see that she was really anxious.  
"I'm sure once you get some sleep, you'll feel better."  
She didn't answer, but it wasn't because she wanted to be rude, she just didn't know what to say.  
"Do you think maybe you should eat something before you sleep?"  
"I'm sure Stephen will just hook me back up to the IV once I'm asleep," she said softly.  
Fitz nodded.  
"You should go Fitz, I'm sure you have things to do."  
"There is nothing I have to do right now that's more important than making sure you're okay. If you want me to leave you can tell me, I won't get mad or anything, just be honest with me."  
As frustrated as she was, taking it out on Fitz wasn't helping so she took a deep breath and tried to collect herself.  
"I want you to stay with me until Stephen puts me to sleep."  
"Okay, I can do that," he said with his usual charming smile which made her feel even more ridiculous for being frustrated with him.  
Within moments, Stephen was back.  
"Okay, Liv, just get on the bed- give me a second."  
"Okay."  
Olivia walked over to the bed and climbed on, Fitz wanted to offer his help but he also wanted to see if she could do it herself and she did. Once Stephen got the needle ready, Stephen hooked her back up to the intravenous line and as he was getting ready to add the sleep drug she began to panic.  
"I changed my mind."  
"Liv, you need to sleep," Stephen insisted.  
"No, I'm not tired, I'm fine."  
Fitz stepped closer to the bed.  
"Liv, you really need to get some rest," Fitz said as he tried to comfort her.  
She started squirming in the bed and tried taking the needle out of her arm.  
"Liv, no."  
Stephen tried blocking her right hand which was the hand she was using to try to rip the tape off her arm take the iv line out of.  
"Mr. president, hold her hand."  
Fitz wasn't exactly sure what to do, he really didn't want to do anything to scare her or make her feel unsafe and he knew holding her down and drugging her no matter how much she needed to sleep wasn't going to help.  
"Liv, please you really need to sleep, just for a few hours," Fitz plead.  
"Please Don't make him do this to me."  
"Dr. Finch maybe this isn't such a good idea."  
By the time Fitz looked over to Stephen, he had already poured the dosage into the line and when OIivia realized, she was livid.  
"Get it out, get it out of my arm!" she screamed.  
Abby jumped up after hearing Olivia yell, so did Huck and Harrison.  
"What's going on?" Harrison asked.  
Olivia felt herself getting weaker and weaker and before she knew it, she was fast asleep.  
"Do you really think that was the best way to do that?" Fitz asked.  
"I'm a doctor, I have to do what's best for my patient whether they like it or not, the only other option was going to sleep voluntarily and she wasn't going to do that on her own."  
"What happened?" Abby asked.  
"I had to drug Olivia to put her to sleep and she wasn't very happy about it."  
"She'll be fine once she wakes up, she really needed to sleep, I actually thought you would have done it sooner."  
Stephen eyed Fitz as if to say 'I told you so'.  
"I guess you're right but I just don't want her to feel attacked, especially by us," said Fitz.  
"I promise you that by the time she wakes up, she won't care how we put her to bed, she'll just be happy she got some rest. She would have done the same thing if she were in my position, I promise you," Stephen said with a smile.  
"I'm gonna head back to the White house, call me when she wakes up."  
"You got it," Abby said as she wiped the gunk out of her eye and hopped off the bed.

Olivia slept right back until 9 in the morning.  
She was a little hazy at first but as she looked around, she began to regain her wits.  
"Hey sleepyhead," Abby teased.  
She sat up on the bed, her head was pounding.  
"Abby, you're here. Where am I?"  
"At the hospital remember, you slept all day and all night."  
Olivia yawned and tried massaging her temples.  
" is-"  
"The president," Abby said coyly, "he's here, he had to leave to speak with one of his hot secret service agents in the hall, he told me to call him when you woke up. Can you believe it, I have the president's number."  
Abby pulled out her phone to call Fitz but Olivia stopped her.  
"No, don't call him, I don't want him rushing back here," she said groggily.  
"Are you sure? I don't think he minds."  
"I'm sure."  
"Okay well I bought you some stuff yesterday, now I know we don't have the same sense of style but these are just clothes for you to wear home, by the way how did you sleep?"  
"Good."  
"Any nightmares, the president said you were worried about that."  
"No, no nightmares."  
"Great, Huck and Harrison are out getting food."  
"Good, I feel like eating."  
Abby smiled widely and walked over with the shopping bag to sit on the bed.  
"Great, they'll be back soon."  
She pulled the clothing out of the bag and spread them across the bed for Olivia to see.  
"There was a mall a few blocks down, I saw this sweatsuit and I thought it was so cute, I wasn't sure what size to get so I got you an extra-small, wasn't easy to find, not even for Victoria's Secret but I think it should fit, it has an adjustable waist, you'll be fine."  
Olivia smiled.  
"Wow light pink?"  
"You don't like it?"  
"No, I love it, I wanna put it on right now,"  
"You can, if you want?"  
"Will you help me to take a shower first?"  
"Sure, are you okay to take a shower though, I mean I know about the- you know…"  
"The what?"  
"Waterboarding," Abby whispered.  
Olivia swallowed hard and tried to push the memory back.  
"I still have to take showers Abby, I might not be able to swim again but showers I still have to take."  
"Absolutely, sorry about bringing it up, I just wanted to be sure."  
'It's okay, can you help me up?"  
"Sure."  
Abby jumped up and helped Olivia out of the bed.  
"Why did Stephen take me off the drip?"  
"He's gonna discharge you today at noon so he said that, you can take the medication orally from now on."  
They walked to the small bathroom a few feet from the bed. Abby helped her undress and went to turn on the pipes as Olivia urinated.  
Even though Abby had seen Olivia naked hundreds of times, she tried not to look at her but she couldn't help it, she was curious. She tried to sneak a quick peek but Olivia caught her looking.  
"Sorry," Abby said quickly.  
"Abby if I didn't want you seeing me, I wouldn't have asked you to stay with me while I shower," Olivia said lightheartedly.  
"I know it's just that Stephen told us you had bruises, I just didn't think they were that bad."  
Olivia looked down at her body; the right side of her rib was purple from where she had broken her ribs and it would have healed a long time ago if her captors hadn't been kneeling on top of her and holding her down to torture her; she also had blotches of faded purple around her ankles and chest but apart from that most bruises had faded in color and almost healed. Her pelvis, ribs and collarbone were protruding.

"They've healed a lot and they'll only keep healing right?"  
Olivia asked as if she was seeking assurance, which Abby was happy to give.  
"Right, you'll be back to normal in no time."  
When Abby was finished gauging the water, she stood back from the shower.  
"It's nice and warm."  
Olivia nodded and stepped in. She stood back from the faucet and just let the water run on her feet.  
"Abby?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Would you be freaked out if I asked you to hold my hand?" Olivia asked nervously.  
Abby smiled.  
"Really Liv? How many times have you held my hair back while I puked my guts out."  
Abby said as she walked over and held onto Olivia's hand. She watched Olivia slowly stepped under the shower. It was the quickest one handed shower Abby had ever seen.  
"Damn Liv, I think you broke a record," Abby said as she laughed hoping it would lighten Olivia up as well.  
She handed Olivia a hospital towel and watched as Olivia quickly stepped out of the shower.  
"Okay wait let me get you some underwear I brought from home for you, one sec," Abby said as she ran off.  
Olivia dried herself as she waited for Abby to retrieve the underwear. By the time she was done Abby was back with the underwear and sweatsuit.  
Olivia quickly got dressed and brushed her teeth and by the time she was back in her room, Huck and Harrison were back with the food.  
"I'm hungry. What did you get Huck?"  
Huck walked over and handed her a bag with food.  
"I got everything, I didn't know what you would like. There are sandwiches and uh muffins, uh also fruits, I know you like fruits."  
Huck was his usually stammering, squirmish self.  
"Thank you."  
"Welcome Liv," Harrison said.  
"No really, thanks, for everything, I don't know what I'd do without you guys."  
Abby ran over and hugged her.  
"Awww, we're just glad you're home."  
Olivia spread the food out in front of her so she could see what she got. Abby and Harrison were bickering about something but she ignored them and dug in her food.  
There was a knock on the door.  
"Come in," Abby called.  
Fitz opened the door and walked in. He was pleasantly surprised by the she was awake.  
"Good morning Liv, how are you feeling?"  
"I'm okay," she said with a smile.  
"Good, you're eating?"  
"Yeah, a turkey sandwich, it has bacon and avocados, it's pretty good, actually it's very good, here try it."  
She stretched her sandwich towards him to feed him a piece and he walked over and took a bite of it so casually that Harrison and Abby mouths fell open as they looked at each other in shock and amusement.  
Olivia ignored them and kept eating her food, occasionally stuffing something into Fitz's mouth.  
By the time she was finished eating, Stephen showed up.  
"Liv, good morning, you look well rested."  
"You too," she said with a smile, "I guess that's what happens when your most troublesome patient sleeps for an entire day."  
"Actually yes, I've been practically living here since you were admitted."  
Olivia smiled.  
"I actually came to give you your prescriptions and medication, I'm giving you antibiotics for the pneumonia, painkiller for your ribs and a sleeping aid but only take the sleeping aid in half doses, well you know the drill plus Abby and Harrison will be with you in New York to monitor you anyways."  
Fitz raised an eyebrow.  
"New York?"  
He turned to face Olivia.  
"You're going back to New York?"  
"I'm sorry, I just assumed," Stephen added.  
"When were you planning on telling me?" Fitz asked.  
"There's nothing to tell," she said softly.  
"What do you mean there's nothing to tell?"  
The tone of the room got serious and awkward and Fitz was so caught up he forgot all about the fact that they weren't alone.  
"Can you give us a sec please?"  
They scoured out quickly and awkwardly leaving Olivia and Fitz alone.

Fitz walked closer to her bed.  
"Olivia, I just got you back, you can't leave."  
Olivia didn't respond.  
"I made arrangements for you to stay here, at your apartment, I assigned a detail to you, I got you the best therapist I could find."  
"Fitz, I'm going to New York."  
"Why?"  
"What am I gonna do here Fitz, I don't have anyone here."  
"You have me here."  
"You're busy running a country how are you gonna find time to babysit me. I need to be in New York, that's where my home is, that's where my friends are, that's where my life is. I can't stay here and I don't want to."  
"So that's it, after everything that's happened, you're just going to leave?"  
"I'm sorry."  
Fitz cleared his throat and grabbed his coat from the back of the chair.  
"Don't be, I did mean to be so harsh," he said with a hard gulp, as if he was struggling to find the words.  
He threw on his coat and walked over to the door.  
"What did you think was gonna happen when I got back; you thought everything was gonna go back to normal. That we were just gonna pick up where we left off?"  
He was about to open the door but then he stopped and faced her.  
"No, I thought that whatever happened, we were gonna work through it together but."

"I can't stay here Fitz, you know that, you just don't want to admit it."

Fitz paused.  
"There are six agents assigned to you, three are here, I'll let them know you'll be staying in New York so that they can make the necessary arrangements for that."  
"Fitz-"  
"Come on Olivia, what am I staying here for, just to tell you goodbye."

"No."  
He turned and opened the door then stopped again, he thought maybe he could plead one last time.  
"Olivia please don't go, we'll figure something out, you can stay at the White house with me or your friends could come here, whatever you need just please stay here."

"I'm sorry Fitz."

"It's okay."

"We can talk on the phone."

"I'm sure we will."

Fitz had absolutely no confidence that she would speak with him regularly on the phone once she was in New York but he wasn't going to argue with her anymore, it would only make it worse.  
There were no words, so he walked over and kissed her on the forehead and then he left. 


	28. Chapter 28

3 months later.

Fitz sat as his desk, reading through bills and briefings, waiting for Mellie to meet him so they could drive to Gerry's football game together.

In the three months since Olivia left, he spoke to her twice and one of those times, was to inform her that he killed her father in a raid, the other barely qualified as a conversation.

Being without her was harder than he thought, especially after he found out what she did to herself but he kept himself busy enough to only really feel the sting of her absence at nights when he was lonely and mornings when he hoped he'd wake up beside her.

Fitz continued reading his briefing until he heard a knock on the door and looked up.

"Come in," he called.

Cyrus trotted in.

"Fitz what's this?"

Cyrus waved a small stack of papers in the air.

"What's what?"

"It's your reelection paperwork, the aide told me you gave it to her to shred."

"Yes I did."

Cyrus was a little puzzled.

"Why?

"Because I'm not running for reelection."

Cyrus sighed.

"You're not serious about that Fitz."

"I'm dead serious."

"Fine, I'll just fill it out and send it in. I just have to do everything on my own don't I," Cyrus said in frustration.

"If you do that I'll just withdraw it."

"Fitz you're ahead of the field in all the polls by ALOT! America is handing you four more years on a platter and you're saying no! You have 19 months to the election just take a little more time to think about it."

"Cyrus, I'm really trying to get some work done before my ex wife gets here, can you leave me in peace."

It was as if Mellie heard her name because she came strolling right in.

"I'm ready," she announced.

"Give me a second."

"Uh, I flew all the way from California to see a football game, I'm ready now."

Fitz threw down his papers and sighed.

"No, you flew all the way from California because the news has been reporting that you're a neglectful mother so you came for a photo op."

Mellie smiled.

"Where's Olivia?" She said with a smile.

That was her go to card anytime she wanted to piss him off.

Fitz stood up and put his jacket on.

"You can take your own car to the football game," he said as he button his jacket and headed out.

Mellie stormed out right behind Fitz leaving Cyrus alone in the office.

"I could have been running Harvard but I turned it down," he said to himself.

Fitz headed off the football game in his motorcade, with Mellie trailing in the car behind him. When he got to the game, Gerry was already out on the field warming up so he took his seat at front of the bleachers and watched.

Shortly after, he saw Kenna headed to take her seat beside him and he was thankful because that meant that she would able to keep Mellie on her best behavior.

"Hi Mr, Grant," Kenna said in her usual preppy tone.

"Hey Kenna, how's it going?"

"Good, were just preparing for end of year exams but don't worry, I'm gonna ace it and so is Gerry," she said with a smile.

"Of that, I have no doubt Kenna."

She looked out onto the field to try to find Gerry in the crowd of athletes.

At 16 years old, Gerry was one of the tallest on his team but not the most muscular, he was still a scrawny thing compared to most of the other players.

As the game was soon to commence, Gerry and the team left the field to prepare for the start of the game in the locker room and so the cheerleaders and marching band did their presentations to keep the crowd entertained until it was time for them to march out in grand splendor for the end of year pep rally game against their rival school.

As the players lined up and were introduced one at a time, Mellie finally appeared and sat beside Kenna, he didn't care to ask what took her so long.

When it was Gerry's turn for an introduction, he waved at Fitz and Kenna and even Mellie as the crowd cheered him on fervently.

After all the pomp and fuss, the game began. It was going specularly well until the unthinkable happened.

It was the middle of the fourth quarter, Fitz sat cheering when the quarterback threw a wide pass to Gerry. As Gerry was attempting to catch the ball a huge lineman collided, helmet first into his back and Gerry flung his head back and fell to the field. It was so forceful that Fitz heard the collision all the way from the stand and jumped up immediately, so did Mellie and Kenna and half the bleachers.

About three second passed and when Fitz realized Gerry wasn't moving, he sprinted out to the field to see what was going on, Tom and a couple of his other guards were in tow.

He was by Gerry's side within seconds. His coach kneeled beside him trying to get him to respond.

"Gerry?"

He called him but Gerry was completely unconscious.

"Tom, get the paramedics over here now."

He turned his attention back to Gerry.

"Gerry? Can you hear me?" Gerry?"

Seconds later, Mellie and Kenna were by his side.

"Is he okay?" Kenna asked shakily.

"I-I don't know,"

Moments later, the paramedics were there with a stretcher to carry Gerry off the field and then they hurried him back the ambulance that followed Fitz everywhere he went (officially).

It was a quick drive to James Madison and once they arrived, the doctors took over and hurried off with Gerry.

Fitz sat staring into space occasionally speaking with Cyrus who had arrived shortly after they arrived. He waited for that seemed what seemed like forever but was only a couple of hours before the doctors came back. He half expected to see Stephen but he wasn't there.

He stood as the doctors approached him, Mellie did as well.

"Good evening Mr. president, Ms.- Grant."

The doctor wasn't sure what Mellie maiden name was so he continued with Grant.

"I'm doctor Stewart, this is doctor Smith."

Fitz shook both their hands, they were both female, in their mid forties.

"What happened to my son?"

The doctors looked at each other then at Fitz.

"Your son suffered a complete disintegration of the lumbosacral section of his spine," said Dr. smith.

"Meaning?"

"He broke his back,"

The doctors looked at each other before continuing.

"Unfortunately, this type of injury is inoperable and causes paralyzation-"

"Wait what do you mean?"

"Your son is paralyzed from the waist down."

Fitz had no idea what to do or say so he just stood frozen. He could hear Mellie and Kenna sobbing but he tuned them out.

"Where is he? Is he awake?"

"Yes sir, I can take you to him right now,"

"Did you tell him?"

"No sir."

"Is Dr. Finch on duty?"

"Yes sir, he's been in surgery for the past 4 hours but he's scheduled to be finished in a few minutes."

"Can you please let him know that I'd like to speak with him when he is finished."

"Yes sir,"

"Okay, I'd like to see my son now."

Fitz and Mellie followed the doctors to Gerry's room.

When he walked into the room, he found Gerry laying on the bed, crying.

"Gerr," he said softly.

Mellie and Kenna walked in behind him seconds later.

"No, I just wanna talk to my dad, I don't wanna talk to anybody else."

Fitz turned to Mellie and Kenna, he could see they were hurt by Gerry's request but they obliged and left.

Fitz walked slowly to a distraught Gerry and stopped directly beside him and held onto his hand.

"Dad, I can't feel my legs, I don't know if the doctors gave me some sort of medicine to make my legs numb, I don't know what's going on, did the doctors tell you?"

Fitz took a deep breath.

"Gerry, I want you to know that no matter what happens I'll always love you 100%," Fitz said shakily.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Gerry said, choked up by Fitz's display of emotion.

"The doctor said you broke your back," Fitz uttered softly.

"Broken backs can heal, they can fix it right?"

"She said your condition is inoperable, they can't fix it-"

As Fitz spoke, Gerry began to realize what was going on.

"Dad, am I gonna be able to walk again?" Gerry choked out.

"I'm so sorry Gerry,"

Gerry started sobbing and then he stopped and dried his face.

"Where's Olivia?"

"What?"

"Olivia, I want to see Olivia, she had a patient who was paralyzed - and she fixed him, I read about it, she can fix me too."

"Gerry I-"

"I know you guys broke up but she likes me, she'll help me, please dad, I just need to ask her. I don't want to be like this forever please."

"I can't promise that Olivia can help you, I don't want you to get your hopes up-"

"Dad please, she can help me, I know it just let me ask her," Gerry begged.

"Okay, I will try to get Olivia but I need you to know that no matter what happens, whether Olivia is able to help you or not, I'm always gonna love and support you 100%."

"I know but you don't have to worry, Olivia will fix me and everything will go back to normal, you'll see."

Gerry was hopeful, too hopeful and Fitz didn't want to imagine what would happen if and when Gerry found out Olivia couldn't help him.

"Why don't you talk to your mom and Kenna, they're worried about you."

Gerry nodded.

"Okay."

Fitz leaned over and hugged him.

"How are you feeling?"

"Good, it'll take me a while to heal after Olivia fixes me but once I'm back on my feet again, I'll be fine."

Mellie knocked on the door, interrupting their conversation which Fitz was grateful for.

"Talk to your mom, I'm gonna go talk to your doctors for a second okay."

"Okay dad."

Fitz let Mellie and Kenna in and then excused himself to the hallway where Stephen was waiting for him.

"Dr. Finch,"

"Mr. President, I'm sorry to hear what happened to Gerry. How is he doing?"

"He's doing great because he believe it's only temporary because Olivia will heal him."

"What?"

"Can she?"

"Well, I looked at his x-Rays and it's pretty bad, he has damage going all the way up his spine but it isn't actually severed until his lower back. Under normal circumstances, I'd say Olivia could look at it because she is the best at this kind of stuff but I've spoken to her in the past and she doesn't think she's at a place where she can operate."

Fitz sighed in frustration.

"My son is in there and he's putting all his faith in her, I can't tell him she can't do it."

"Let me talk to him, maybe I can explain-"

"No, I'll figure it out, thanks Dr. Finch."

Fitz shook his hand and then walked over to Cyrus.

"How bad is he taking it?" Cyrus asked.

"He's not taking it, he doesn't care that his back is broken because he thinks Olivia will fix and he'll be fine in a couple months."

"He what?"

"Yeah," Fitz said exhaustively.

"So what did you tell him?"

"That I'd try."

"And what if she can't do it?"

"Then she can tell him herself."

Cyrus pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Do you think she can?"

"I don't know, I have no idea what's going on with her, not personally, she doesn't speak to me, all I know is what the agents tell me and they're not close enough to know what's going on with her.

"You still have her number?"

"Yeah but she never answers, I don't expect her to answer now but I'm still gonna try, maybe I can convince her but if she really can't do-"

"After everything that's happened she owes you this."

"She doesn't owe me anything Cyrus, I owe her, she saved my life remember- you know what, I'm gonna ask her and if she can't help him then I'll just have to figure out what to do next."

The next morning

Olivia breathed in the cool, crisp spring central park air as she stopped to take a break from jogging. After a very tough couple of months, she finally worked herself into a routine and she was beginning to feel like herself again. Jogging was a big part of her recovery, it kept her mind clear and it helped her regain strength and stamina. She was still on the petite side but she gain a lot of weight and was almost at her normal size.

Once she caught her breath, she began jogging around the path once again when a tall Asian man jogged up beside her.

"Hi."

"Uhm hi," she said awkwardly, slightly terrified.

"I've watched you jogging for the past two weeks and I was wondering if I could take you out for some coffee once you're finished the trail?"

Olivia slowed down to a stop.

"I'm sorry, I can't, there is someone..."

"Oh of course, you have a boyfriend, well he's a lucky guy, you're very beautiful."

"Thank you."

He smiled.

"Well sorry to bother you, enjoy your day."

He nodded politely and jogged off, leaving Olivia behind.

That was the third man to approach her that week and she thought maybe it was time to change her route. She continued jogging back to her apartment, stopping to greet her doorman on her way up.

She walked into her apartment to find Abby laying on the couch watching tv but she changed the channel as soon as she heard Olivia walking over to her.

"Don't you work today Abby?"

"No, I'm off today and thank god for it, I was tired as a dog."

"Oh, what are you watching?"

"Nothing, just flipping through channels," Abby lied.

She was really watching the report on Gerry's accident but she didn't want Olivia to know about it.

"Um okay, well I'm gonna shower and head to my session."

"Okay, I'm gonna lay here and sleep."

"Um okay."

Olivia took a quick shower and did her hair and makeup and the headed back to her room. Before the whole kidnapping ordeal, she had simple taste, her room had plain white wall, with a simple minimalist decor but that changed. She painted her walls light blue and many pieces of artwork on the walls, she also kept fresh cut flowers in each room, mostly blue hydrangeas and red roses. She had toys all over the apartment for whenever her goddaughter came over to play which had pretty much been every day.

She kept herself busy with her daily therapy sessions, art classes, pilates, boxing classes and she spent a great deal of time at the kids park in the afternoons with her goddaughter.

She put on her underwear and headed to her closet. There was dramatically more color than before, she didn't particularly like prints so she kept the colors solid or monochromatic, she had a variety of blush pinks and deep reds, light blues and teals. She skimmed through her racks of clothes until she saw a dark jade, silk floor length robe coat. She smiled and pulled it out, she remembered buying it from the Saint Laurent shop at Bergdorf a year ago but she never got the chance to wear it. She paired it with a black long sleeve bodysuit she bought from the theory boutique and a pair of black Alexander Wang skinny jeans. She looked herself over in the mirror and she was pleased, she felt beautiful. She threw on a pair of black lace up Alaia pumps and grabbed her keys and Saint Laurent bag and headed down to the street to hail a taxi.

Within a half hour, she was in the lobby of her therapist's office, waiting to be called.

"Olivia," the receptionist called "She's ready for you."

"Thanks Tessa," Olivia said as the entered the office.

She took her usual seat on the couch and waited for a few seconds till her therapist walked in.

"Good morning Liv, right on time, as always."

"Savannah."

Olivia stood up and greeted her with a kiss on the cheek and sat back on the couch.

"When I saw you yesterday, I gave you an assignment, did you do it?"

"Yes, I thought a lot about what you said and you were right, it's time, I'm just nervous."

"Let's take a step back, how did you sleep last night? Any night terrors?"

"I did have a nightmare last night but I shook it off, I didn't dwell on it like you said, it's been getting easier and easier to do that, with my father gone, I guess there isn't this sort of worry anymore that what happened could happen again."

"A big part of your recovery is about feeling safe again, so you can unequivocally say that you feel safe?"

"Realistically, I try to remind myself that I am safe, I can see my guards keeping their distance and watching me but sometimes there is fear. A lot of fear, I mean, I'm so paranoid."

"Fear of?"

"Well I'm afraid of being in a situation where I can't help myself, I'm still afraid of being in small spaces, I'm afraid of feeling like I'm drowning, I'm afraid of the rain, it makes me feel like I'm suffocating."

"These all seem like mental obstacles."

"They are, I know that but it doesn't make it any less real."

Savannah smiled.

"Have I told you that you're my favorite patient?"

"You might have mentioned it a time or two."

"Know you I have to ask-"

Savannah knew this was a particularly testy subject with Olivia.

"Any suicidal thoughts?"

"No, it was just one time."

"The moment someone decides that they want to end their life and they actually make the attempt to do it, it's never just a one time thing, you know that."

"It was a dark time, I'll admit that and I was wrong for what I did and I regret it but every time you bring it up I feel like an idiot."

"I understand that but you can't pretend it never happened."

"I have the scars to prove it Savannah, I'm not pretending it never happened, I'm just trying to move on, it's embarrassing enough that someone at the hospital leaked it to the media and they hounded me for days."

"That was a gross invasion your privacy."

"You think," Olivia said with a chuckle.

"Okay, so back to your assignment, you said you were nervous?"

Olivia sighed.

"I changed my mind, let's talk about it tomorrow."

"No, I've been trying to get you to talk about him for 2 months, no more delaying. What do you feel?"

"I feel like I'm ready but I can't imagine he'd want to speak to me now."

"Why not?"

"With me leaving and everything that happened after."

"Why did you leave?"

"You asked me that already."

"And you didn't answer," Savannah pointed out, "I think maybe it's time."

"Nope, nope, nope," Olivia insisted.

"Okay fine, back to your assignment, you said I was right, why is that?"

Olivia smiled.

"I miss him, well- I've always missed him but now I feel like I'm at a place where I feel like I might be functional enough to be able to be in a healthy relationship with him before I didn't think that was a possible, which I guess I have to admit was one of the reasons I left."

"Progress," Savannah teased lightly.

"Yes well I don't think it matters, he's probably found someone by now, he isn't exactly unattractive."

"Do you know that for sure?"

"No, in fact I haven't turned on a tv in two months and 12 days because I don't want to find out when he has a new someone."

"How would you feel if you did in fact find out he moved on?"

"I don't know, it's not something I like to think about. I love him very much and even though I haven't spoken to him in 63 days, I still feel close to him."

"What about intimacy? Do you think you're ready to have sex again, not just with him, with anyone."

Olivia made a gesture of disgust.

"Nope no one else, just him, he's the only one I would trust with my body right now."

"Then why don't you tell him that, tell him you love and trust him and that your at a place where you believe you can be in a functional relationship."

"I'm functional but I'm not 100%, there are still night terrors and anxiety attacks and migraines, I mean sometimes I'm perfectly fine and other times it's like I'm there again."

"You will never be exactly as you were before the ordeal, that was very traumatic and it will change you forever and your memory won't help either, sometimes you'll be able to keep them at bay and other times it will feel like you're there all over again. There will always be some paranoia but you can't live in this virtual bubble for the rest of your life. You will have to go back to - dare I say, normal, what about your practice, are you going to abandon your profession, you are an amazing neurologist, surely you intend to practice again."

"I can't perform surgery on anyone in my condition, there are too many panic attacks."

"Well we can work on that."

"We can but we'll have to do that tomorrow, I have to go pick my goddaughter for our little play date today."

"Of course, we'll pick up where we left off tomorrow."

Olivia stood and smiled.

"As always, thank you,"

She waved goodbye and then made her way outside to catch a cab to Kamaya's house, her close friend with whom she'd worked together for several years and the mother of her godchild.

She arrived at the Kamaya's apartment in no time and made her way up and rang the doorbell. Kamaya was working her shift at Columbia but her nanny Simone was there and opened the door for Olivia.

"Liv, how you doing? Sahara knew you were coming, she's been getting dressed for twenty minutes now."

Olivia smiled and stepped into the apartment to find her almost two year old goddaughter Sahara running around with one shoe on her feet.

"Sahara, how are you pumpkin?"

Once Sahara recognized the voice she clumsily ran over to Olivia.

"Va, hold you, hold you."

She stretched her hands up to Olivia signaling that she wanted to be held and Olivia obliged. Olivia had tried teaching her how to say 'hold me' whenever she wanted to be held but Sahara ended up saying 'hold you' instead and she thought it was so cute she never corrected her.

She threw Sahara up in the air and then kissed her stomach which earned her a loud fit of laughter from Sahara. She quickly grabbed her stuff and finished dressing her before heading out again.

She lived only three blocks from Sahara so she usually walked home with her.

As she was walking with Sahara on her hip, she noticed that traffic was thicker than usually for the time of day but she didn't give it much thought she just continued walking.

She walked down her block and she saw a bunch of black SUV's parked up. As she walked further to her apartment she saw a gaggle of news reporters and as soon as they realize who she was, they pounced on her.

"Olivia Pope is the president here to ask for your help?"

"Did president Grant ask for your help in treating Gerry Grant?"

"Do you think you can operate after your accident?"

She held Sahara close to her chest and before she knew it she was surrounded by secret service agents. They whisked her threw the crowd of reporters quickly and brought her straight to the elevator and to her apartment.

It all happened so fast, she barely had time to register the fact that Fitz was there, most likely in her apartment waiting for her. She was also wondering what happened to Gerry and why she needed to treat him.

Sahara was fussy after the encounter with the press but she managed to calm her down by the time she was standing outside of her door.

The first thing she realized was that Tom was standing guard outside of her apartment.

"Tom, is he in there?" She whispered.

"Yes ma'am."

"Why what happened?"

"Ma'am"

"You're not gonna tell me?"

Tom didn't respond.

"Okay."

Olivia closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths before she opened the door and walked in.


	29. Chapter 29

Enjoy ….

Fitz walked down the hall to Olivia's apartment and knocked the door and waited for Abby to open the door. He spoke with the agents that were guarding her and he knew she was going to be home soon.

He waited as he heard footsteps approach the other side of the door and then the door opened.

"Mr. President," Abby said with her mouth hung open in shock.

"Hello Abigail, can I come in?"

"Um sure, of course."

Abby jumped to the side, allowing Fitz to enter and then she closed the door behind him.

"Does she know?"

"I'm sorry sir I don't know what you mean?"

"Yes you do."

Abby sighed.

"No, she doesn't know."

"I called her yesterday, she didn't answer."

"I had her phone, she doesn't know you called," Abby admitted.

Fitz cleared his throat in an attempt to make his voice less angry.

"Do you really think that was your place?"

"Yes, I do. I know why you're here, you want her to operate on him. I'm really sorry about what happened to your son but you can't put this type of pressure on her."

"That's for her to decide."

"She's gonna say yes, even if she feels like she can't do it and what if she fails, what if she freaks out in the middle of surgery and your son gets worse, that will destroy her."

"Abby you don't have a child so you don't understand and I don't expect you to but I'm must admit that I'm pretty disappointed that you would go out of your way to keep this from her especially considering that it's my son on the line."

At that moment Olivia was right outside and she opened her door and saw Fitz standing in the foyer.

His back was turned to her at first but once realized she was behind him, he turned and faced her.

When Fitz turned around and saw her, she momentarily took his breath away, it was like the first time seeing her all over again, that was how much he missed her but he composed himself, his trip was about Gerry.

"Uhm hi."

She was so nervous she felt as if her heart was going explode in her chest.

"Hi," Fitz returned.

She noticed he was staring between her and Sahara.

"This is Sahara, she's my goddaughter."

At that same moment Sahara wiggled out of Olivia arms and Olivia gently let her down to the floor. Sahara walked over to Fitz and stretched for him to pick her up.

"Up, up," she commanded for Fitz to lift her up.

Olivia ran over and picked her before Fitz could.

"I'm sorry," she said to Fitz, "Abby can you watch her for a second."

Abby walked over and took Sahara.

"Sure."

Olivia turned back to Fitz.

"Is everything okay, I mean- did something happen to Gerry, one of the reporters asked me if I was going to operate on him?"

"Yes, that's why I came here, I need your help."

Fitz's tone was still very formal.

"Gerry had an accident, he broke his back and he's paralyzed from his waist down."

He could see her panicking beneath the surface because she was anticipating having to operate.

"Oh my god, when did this happen?"

"Yesterday. "

"Yesterday? Why didn't you call me, I would have came to you."

"I did call you, last night?"

"Last night? Abby had my phone last night,"

Upon saying the words Olivia realized what Abby did.

"I understand that you might not be able to help him but Gerry doesn't, I need you talk to him. He seems to think only you can fix this, I tried to tell him but he won't listen, if you can talk to him and let him understand then maybe he can try to accept this and try to adjust."

Olivia stared at him for what seemed forever before she spoke.

"I'm so sorry that this happened Fitz, I really am. I can take a look at him and see if I can help him."

"Are you sure? I know it's a lot to just pop up and throw this at you."

"No, it's okay, I swear."

She hated seeing him hurt so she trying to be as reassuring as possible.

Fitz nodded.

"Let me just say bye to Sahara?"

"No of course, take your time."

By now Sahara was playing in her little corner, minding her own business.

"Hara?" Olivia called and Sahara came running over with her fluffy pigtails hanging off her head.

The one thing Olivia loved most about her was how happy she always was, her joy was infectious and whenever Olivia was around her, she couldn't be sad so for that reason, Olivia kept her around as much as possible.

"Hey sweetie, Liv has to go somewhere with her friend for a little bit okay. Can I get you something before I go?"

"Fuff fuff."

Olivia smiled.

"Okay, I'll get you some fuff fuff, I'll be right back."

She walked to the kitchen and grabbed Sahara one of the chocolate muffins she was so obsessed with and then headed back to the living room.

"Here you go pumpkin."

Olivia stooped down and handed Sahara the muffin.

"Gimme kiss?"

Sahara stretched and gave her a slobbery kiss on the nose and ran off with her muffin.

"Abby I'm gonna call Simone and have her come pick her up in a little while okay."

"Sure."

Olivia knew she needed to talk to Abby about her reason for not telling her Fitz called but that moment wasn't the right time.

She turned to Fitz.

"Ready?" He asked.

She grabbed her purse that she had dropped to floor when she walked in earlier and then they both headed out.

By the time they got to lobby, the press pool outside had gotten substantially more chaotic but unlike before, there was a clear path to the cars, no doubt the doing of the secret service.

Fitz walked ahead and held the door open for her and waited for her to enter. Just like before, the reporters shouted the most uncomfortable questions at her.

"Does this mean you agreed to help the president?"

"Do you think you can help the president after the incident?"

She walked as quickly as she could to the car and once she was inside and the motorcade pulled off, she let out a breath she felt like she'd been holding forever.

She was sure Fitz heard the questions they were throwing at her but he said nothing. It was a very awkward but quick drive to the downtown Manhattan heliport; from the heliport they flew to the military gate at JFK and boarded Air Force one.

If it had been three months ago, she would have freaked out at the idea of getting in a plane but now it wasn't so bad. The plane was huge and she wondered where to sit but then she saw Fitz sit at a table by the window so she sat opposite to him.

Tom approached them moments later.

"Sir, we're preparing for take off momentarily."

"Okay thank you Tom."

There were some aides and workers on the plane, Olivia had no idea what they were doing until a woman with a stack of papers walked over and sat beside Fitz. She looked to be in her late thirties, she had short, dirty blonde hair and green eyes, she was attractive but not jaw droppingly beautiful. She briefly glanced at Olivia and then averted her eyes back to Fitz.

"Mr. President I had a few things that Mr. Beene asked that I go over with you."

Fitz leaned back and crossed his legs.

"Sure."

"In regards to the group of senators you were suppose to dine with tonight-"

"Have Sally meet with the senators."

"Okay sir and also your phone call with president Pineda?"

"Get ambassador Hayes to sit in on the call for me."

She took notes as Fitz spoke.

"Your hunting trip with NRA?"

"Cancel it."

"Your appearance at the fundraising dinner-"

"Send Sally."

"Okay everything else Mr. Beene said he's taking care."

"Thank you Lena."

It was quite obvious to Olivia that Lena was attracted to Fitz; based on her body language.

"Can I get you something to eat?" She asked Fitz.

"No, I'm fine. Are you hungry Olivia?"

"No thank you, I'm fine."

Fitz turned his attention back the Lena.

"I think we're good here Lena but thank you."

She nodded.

"Yes, Mr. President."

She stood up and walked off.

Shortly after the plane took off and they were in the air.

Olivia had a lot to think about, she knew she couldn't commit to helping Gerry until she knew exactly what type of injury he had sustained but she was also a little afraid because she knew that if it was something that she could operate on theoretically then she was pretty sure she was going to do it. She didn't doubt that she knew what she was doing, she doubted her ability to perform a 10-13 hour surgery without some sort of major anxiety attack or meltdown. There was no tolerance for mistakes in her line of work and she couldn't afford to make one, especially not with Gerry.

She was so caught up that she didn't notice Fitz staring at her arm. She looked down and notice that her sleeve slipped down leaving her wrist exposed and revealing her scars. She pulled down her sleeve quickly and she thought he would say something but he didn't he just turned away, which made the 1 hour flight so much more awkward and uncomfortable.

Once they landed at the airstrip, they transferred to marine one and flew to the White House where they were greeted by the press corp but this time, they weren't close enough to yell questions. From the White House, they drove to James Madison hospital.

She called Stephen on her way to the hospital just to make sure he was on duty and by the time they arrived, Stephen was waiting for them outside of Gerry's room.

"Liv?"

Stephen said as he stretched his arms out and hugged her.

"Hey Stephen."

"I half want to kill you but I also realize now is not a good time so I'll wait."

Olivia smiled nervously but didn't respond.

Fitz cleared his throat.

"Mr. President," Stephen greeted.

"Where are Gerry's doctors?" asked Olivia, "I was hoping to speak with them."

"I told them you were coming and that you'd want to see all the tests and information on Gerry, they went to gather it all."

"Where's Gerry?" Olivia asked Fitz.

"Right in here," he said as he led the way to Gerry room door and Olivia followed.

Fitz could see that she was nervous so before he opened the door, he stopped and faced her.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"It's just, you seem a little frazzled and- I don't want you to feel pressured, I tried telling him no but I didn't want to disappoint him."

"No, Fitz seriously, this is your son were talking about, I'll do anything I can to help him."

"Thank you."

She nodded and smiled.

Fitz opened the door for her and then walked in behind her.

The first thing Olivia noticed was that Gerry was asleep.

"He's asleep?" She asked rhetorically.

Mellie who was standing by the window turned around and she was slightly taken aback by Olivia's appearance but she tried not to show it.

"Olivia," Mellie said as she walked closer, "Gerry fell asleep about 10 minutes ago, I don't think he'll be out for long though."

"Okay, well, there's no rush."

Olivia placed her purse on the chair beside Gerry's bed and unbelted her silk coat and threw it over the back of the chair.

Mellie gave Olivia a venomous once over, she looked great and as annoyed as Mellie was about that she contained herself because if Olivia really could help Gerry, she didn't want to get in the way of that. She then looked over to Fitz and saw him looking at Olivia, not in the hornball way she expected but the same way he looked at her when she found them in the oval together; he looked at her with so much love and want that it hurt her feelings because he seemed to not even try to hide it or maybe he couldn't hide it, she wasn't sure.

"How's he doing?" Olivia asked breaking Mellie out of her train of thought.

"Good, he's been positive, I don't think it sunk as yet and I'm not looking forward to when he realizes that this actually happened especially if you can't help him-"

Stephen and Gerry's doctors walked in the room, interrupting their conversation.

"Dr. Pope, it's an honor to meet you, I'm Dr. Stewart and this is Dr. Smith."

Mellie rolled her eyes.

"Hey, Dr. Smith, Dr. Stewart, I was hoping to go over Gerry's diagnosis as well as review his tests results."

"Of course, we brought all the lab results."

Dr. Smith said as she handed her a folder of paperwork and lab images.

Olivia opened the folder and began inspecting the results.

"The impact of the hit severed the lumbosacral region of his spine, the nerve damage is irreparable- well - that's up to you to decide."

Olivia looked over the images.

"There are fissures going up his thoracic and cervical vertebra," Olivia said, mostly to herself.

She held up one of the lab images towards the window for better light and then began again.

"C1 to C4 are fine but C5-C7 have fissures, also T4 to T11 and L4 to S2, L4 is completely out of alignment and the nerve roots completely detached at L5."

"Yeah, that's why we deemed it inoperable, I know you've worked on cases like this before but I wasn't sure you were still practicing," said Dr. Stewart.

"No of course, I understand, thank you doctors," Olivia said with a smile.

She was telling them to leave and they knew it, so they politely excused themselves and left. Fitz and Mellie were confused as to what was going on, they didn't understand the medical references Olivia was using.

"So how would you do it?" Stephen asked Olivia.

"Huh?"

"Come on, I can practically see the wheels in your head turning."

"I was thinking - have you ever heard of the flexi-metal called amalgamum, it's mostly based from titanium?"

"Yes," Stephen answered,

"His bone structure is too damaged, stem cells alone wouldn't do it at least not permanently, it would make him too vulnerable to future injuries, his spine would need to be reinforced. They make these very thin, amalgamum rods, it has a very fluid like behavior, which is why it would be ideal to serve as a reinforcement for his spine. If I could retrofit it from the cervical vertebra to the coccyx then that would fix his back. In regards to the nerve damage, I'll have to remove the part of the nerve root that was detached but the stem cells will be to repair it as if it was new."

"That makes it sound simple," said Mellie.

"Trust me, it's not," Stephen said.

"But it can be done?" Mellie asked.

Olivia was hesitant to answer.

"It can but I don't know if I'll be able to do it."

"Why not, you just mapped out a perfectly simple way to fix his back."

"It's not simple, it's very complex, a surgery of that scope would last at least 14 hours, I'm not confident that I-"

"Liv, you're here," Gerry said groggily from his bed

Everyone had been so involved in the conversation, they didn't realize that he'd woken up.

"Hey Gerr," Fitz said.

Olivia walked over to the side of his bed, she could feel Fitz close behind her while Mellie stayed on the opposite side of the bed.

"Dad, you're back."

"Yes, I'm back with Olivia."

"Hey sleepyhead," Olivia teased.

Gerry smiled so wide, Fitz couldn't help but smile too.

Stephen took that as his cue to leave and so he did.

"Hey Liv, I knew you would come."

"Of course, by the way, who did this to you because I will seriously fight them, I might get beat up but I'd still fight them."

Gerry laughed.

"He's huge, he weighs like 250 and I'm not even kidding, he would beat you up so bad."

Olivia smiled.

"So how are you feeling."

"Good, I feel good, there's a little pain in my shoulders though."

"Pain is good, well at least in this case," she paused, "I don't suppose you wanted to see me so I could explain you the fundamentals of interstellar travel and the distance of a parsec, did you?" She said jokingly.

"No, I need your help Liv, I'm desperate. I know you've work on people like me before. I know you can do it again, I can't stay like this."

Olivia held onto his hand.

"Gerry, I want nothing more than to help you but honestly, I'm scared, I haven't done a major surgery in 7 and a half months, if I make a mistake- "

Gerry got teary eyed.

"You won't and even if you do, at least you tried."

Olivia smiled.

"How is it that you have more faith in me that I have in myself."

"Because if I don't have faith in you and you don't do it then I'll be stuck like this forever."

Olivia paused and closed her eyes and gave in.

"I'll do it, as long as you promise not to harass me like your father did when he was my patient okay."

"Hey," Fitz said with a smile.

Gerry looked at Fitz then Olivia.

"I promise," he said as he smiled.

Mellie was seething, she felt like a complete outsider in the moment Olivia, Fitz and Gerry had shared. She didn't even know that Olivia and Gerry knew each other so well, she had assumed they only met once in the oval which they did but Olivia and Gerry had a silent understanding, Olivia understood the Gerry was the son the man she loved and Gerry understood that Olivia was the woman his father was in love with, in that way, they understood each other's place.

She felt like Olivia was stealing her life, first her husband then her son and if Fitz had his way, he'd move her into the White House, she was sure of it.

Mellie cleared her throat loudly to break up the moment.

"So Olivia, how would this process work," Mellie asked.

Olivia leaned up from Gerry's bed.

"Well, first, I'd examine Gerry myself and based on what I conclude, I'd have a pretty clear picture of how to plan his surgery. It would take a few days to prep him, during which time we'd have to extract his marrow and send it off to France to be accelerated and also we would need to get the tools for the surgery, mainly the amalgamum. Once we have to sample we can proceed with the operation. It doesn't usually take very long, the sooner the better."

"So that means I'll be up and about in no time?" Gerry asked.

"No. Surgery is one thing, recovery is another. It will take a lot of therapy to get you back to where you were."

"How long?"

"A month, more or less, it defers based on the patient. I'll be able to tell you more accurately when I begin to track your progress."

"So when will you start?"

"As soon possible but there are a couple things I have to get in order first."

"Like?" Gerry asked excitedly.

"Like get my assistant down here, I'll need him to help me."

"Okay," Gerry said with a smile.

Olivia stepped back from his bed.

"Well, I suppose I should get going, I have a few things I have to do."

"You'll be back tomorrow right?"

"Yes I will."

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow, again, thank you so much, I'd try to hug you but I'm a cripple."

"Gerry don't say that," Fitz scolded.

"Sorry dad."

Olivia chuckled.

"Just stay positive and get some rest alright."

Gerry nodded.

Olivia grabbed her bag and coat and turned to Fitz.

"I'm gonna go chat with Stephen for a little bit," she said to Fitz.

"Yea sure I'll be there in a sec."

"Okay, bye Gerry, Mellie."

"Goodbye Olivia," Mellie said icily.

Olivia then left to go speak with Stephen.

Fitz made a mental note to speak with Mellie about her attitude towards Olivia, the last thing he needed was Mellie antagonizing her while she was going out on a limb for Gerry.

"Gerr, I'm gonna go drop Liv to the airstrip, are you gonna be okay?"

"You're leaving?" Mellie said incredulously.

"It's okay dad, I'm cool here, Kenna coming later anyways."

Fitz was still worried that Gerry was too happy even with everything that happened and he was preparing himself for a breakdown from Gerry.

"You can't leave," Mellie said again.

Fitz ignored her, he didn't want to bicker with her in front of Gerry.

"I'll be back soon."

"Okay dad."

"Fitzgerald-"

Fitz eyed her whilst still not responding to her before leaving. He headed straight to Tom first, to discuss Olivia's travel arrangements and then he met Olivia and Stephen further down the hallway.

"Liv?"

She stopped mid sentence in her conversation with Stephen to answer Fitz.

"Yeah."

"Are you ready or do you need some time."

"No, I'm ready, Stephen and I were just catching up."

"Okay, Tom is getting the car ready out back so we can avoid the press."

She was delighted to hear they wouldn't have another awkward run in with the press.

"Great," she turned back to Stephen, "so I'll see you tomorrow Steph."

"No, I'm off tomorrow."

"Please Steph, come in, for me."

"I'm tired Liv."

"Okay I understand Stephan."

Stephen chuckled.

"You only call me Stephan when your trying to annoy me, it's nice to know you're still the same."

"Whatever, goodbye Stephan."

He gave her a hug.

"Goodbye Liv."

Shortly after Tom came and led them down to the car. Once again, there was complete and utter silence as they drove to the airstrip. Once the car came to a stop, Tom walked up and opened the door.

"Sir, the crew needs more time to finish prepping the plane you chartered."

"Okay, how much more?"

"Not much more."

Fitz nodded and with that Tom closed the door, leaving them alone.

Fitz leaned back in his seat.

"Abby said that you'd say yes even if you felt like you couldn't do it," he began.

"I don't doubt that I can, I'm uncertain as to whether or not I will be able to. Maybe the fear is all in my head, maybe there's no reason to think that I can't."

"There is no reason to think you can't, you been flawless so far."

"What if the first time I mess up, it's with Gerry, could you forgive me for that?" She said with tears threatening to spill over, she didn't knew where the sudden emotion came from.

"Is that what you're afraid of Livie?" He asked softly as he held on to her hands,

"you shouldn't be, there's a risk and there always is but I trust you and Gerry trusts you, so you just need to trust yourself."

Olivia wiped her eyes.

"What about me leaving, can you forgive me for that too?"

Fitz let go of her hands.

"There's nothing to forgive."

"You have every right to be angry with me-"

He turned and faced her again so she could understand how serious he was as he spoke.

"Actually Olivia I have no right to be angry with you but I am and it kills me because you're perfect-"

"I'm not perfect."

"You are, you're compassionate and kind and strong. You're the most selfless and the most beautiful person I've ever met and you went through the toughest time in your life and you completely shut me out, I found out that you tried to kill yourself because an agent called me in the middle of the night and that infuriates me beyond measure," Fitz paused to try and calm down. He wasn't exactly yelling but he wasn't whispering either, "you could have killed yourself, who am I kidding, that's what you wanted right? You wanted to kill yourself and if Abby hadn't found you then you would have succeeded and I would've been left here without you."

Just then, Tom knocked the door on Olivia's side.

"Ms. Pope, they're ready for you."

She wiped her face which at this point was drenched in tears and then she opened the door.

"Goodbye Fitz."

Tom helped her out of the car and then led her to the small private plane that was waiting for her on the runway.

About a minute after Olivia left the car Fitz began to chastise himself for his behavior.

"I'm such a idiot," he said to himself as he rushed to let himself out of the car.

As he exited the car, he saw Tom descending the plane and walked quickly to Tom.

"Give me a few minutes Tom."

Tom nodded and planted himself with the other agents, between the plane and the army of cars in Fitz's motorcade.

Fitz walked quickly up the stairway to the plane. As soon as he entered the cabin, he saw her standing in the aisle.

Her eyes wet and puffy, she had slight pout but she was still beautiful as ever.

"Liv I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry."

"I had a bad night and because of that I did something that I regret, everyone has a bad night Fitz. I know you're angry at me for shutting you out, if the tables were turned I'd be angry too but at the time, I felt like it was something I had to do. I felt ashamed and embarrassed and sad and afraid and I wanted to wallow in it and I didn't want you to see me like that."

Fitz was silent for what seemed like forever but then he spoke.

"I thought you left because you were angry with me, because I didn't find you sooner."

Olivia was silent for a moment then she stretched her arms out to him.

"Fitz come here."

He stepped slowly towards her but then he hesitated.

"Come here."

Seconds later, Fitz was inches away from her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and almost instinctively he wrapped his hands around her waist and lifted her so they were in the same level.

She held onto him tighter and buried her face in his neck so she could take in his smell and warmth, Fitz did the same; holding onto her for dear life as he let her intoxicating smell fill him up.

"I've never felt anger towards you, or hate, only love and I'm sorry I never thanked you for saving me, if you hadn't I wouldn't be here right now so - thank you, for saving my -"

She didn't get to finished her sentence because she felt Fitz's lips crash into hers, kissing her wholeheartedly and tenderly. It was just like the first time all over again. Olivia heart was racing so fast that she had to break the kiss to catch her breath.

Fitz still hadn't let her down, he still held in to her as tightly as ever as she peppered him with small kisses in between breaths.

"I love you so much," he breathed out, "and thank you for everything, for coming down here and agreeing to help Gerry. I'll never be able to thank you enough for this."

Olivia kissed him lightly on the lips again.

"I love you too."

Fitz held onto to her for a while until they were interrupted by the sound on Tom clearing his throat. Fitz finally let her down and turned around to face Tom.

"Sir, the control tower says they need to take off soon."

Fitz nodded and Tom exited quickly.

"Can I call you later so we can discuss how this would work, where you're gonna stay and all that?"

"Now would be a great time to have my old apartment."

"You still do, I kept it."

Olivia smiled.

"You did."

"Yeah, of course, I told you I would."

"Well that takes care of room and board, I guess."

Olivia stepped back and scratched her ear nervously.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow and I'll call you when I get to New York."

"You promise." Fitz said with a small smile.

"Scouts honor."

"Okay bye Livie?"

He kissed her one last time, softly on the lips and hugged her tightly. The void he felt from being without her for the past 6 months was still there but it didn't hurt so much anymore and he knew there was still a lot to talk about and a lot to work through but at least she was speaking with him again and he could hold her and touch her and and kiss her and that was a start.


	30. Chapter 30

Olivia woke up early the next morning and did her usual jog around Central park. Abby wasn't at the apartment in the evening when she came home and in the morning when she got up for her jog, Abby was asleep but she hoped to catch her when she got back from her run.

She wanted to get an emergency therapy session in before she went back to D.C. with Harrison just to get some advice on how to move forward with Fitz. With everything Fitz told her about how he was feeling last night, she wanted to be as open as possible but there were still some things she wasn't ready to talk about with him as yet.

It was a quick jog and once she got back to her apartment, she was thankful that all the press was gone, there were a couple reporters that were still planted outside early in the morning but reporters were fickle people and when they realized she wasn't answering questions, they moved on to the next thing.

She said hi to her doorman, the way she always did and then quickly went up to her apartment. Once she got in, she heard Abby walking around, talking on the phone, getting ready for work.

She cleared her throat loudly to get Abby's attention and it worked because Abby turned and faced her.

"Abby I need to talk to you."

"One sec-"

"Now Abby."

"Can I call you back in a little while John," Abby said into the phone and then she hung up.

"What's up?" she asked Olivia as if she had no clue why she wanted to speak with her.

"Why didn't you tell me about Gerry when you found out the night before Fitz came here?"

"Look, I didn't tell you because I know you would have felt pressured to help him, you're still recovering."

Olivia didn't want to overreact or get too angry but she couldn't hide her annoyance.

"Abby his son broke his back and you didn't think I should know that, whether or not I wanted to help him was my decision and you should respect that."

Abby rolled her eyes.

"Oh please Liv, I was just trying to protect you, you know you're not 100%, I know you're not 100% so don't pretend like I'm crazy, you can't control your panic attacks and your migraines and you know how bad they can be so don't act like there isn't a very real possibility that you won't freak out during the surgery which based on the fact that you went all the way to D.C, I'm guessing you agreed to do it."

"I love him Abby and that's his son, what kind of person would I be if I didn't try. When I needed him, he did everything he could to save me."

"I understand that, don't get me wrong, I think he's a great guy and he did save both our lives but I'm just trying to be realistic, I don't want you to take on more than you can handle and you can be angry with me about that, I'll understand but I'm not going to tell you to do this."

"How supportive of you."

Abby narrowed her eyes in anger at the fact that Olivia was accusing her of not being supportive.

"Don't do that Liv, I've been by your side through everything and just because I don't want you to do this doesn't mean I don't support you."

"I'm doing it Abby, how am I supposed to know what I'm capable if I don't try, sooner or later, I'm gonna have to go back into the world, I can't just jog and go to therapy for the rest of my life."

"Whatever, when you mess up and he blames you, don't come crying to me."

"I won't!"

Olivia screamed and stormed to her room and slammed the door. Abby grabbed her stuff and did the same, only the stormed through the front door and slammed it.

After Olivia took a little time to calm down and collect herself, she quickly showered, did her makeup and then began searching through her closet for something to wear. She wanted something comfortable but professional so she opted for a pair of navy blue skinny pants with a matching blazer from Theory and a white fitted button down chiffon shirt from Max Mara. She added a pair of black suede Manolo Blahnik pumps to her outfit and then she was ready to go.

It was a quick drive to her Savannah's office. Her sessions usually lasted a few hours but she didn't have enough time to spare for the usual, she just needed a quick fix and then she would be on her way. When she stepped into the office, Savannah was waiting for her in the lobby.

"Liv, morning."

"Hey Savannah," she said as she followed Savannah to her office.

Once they were in the privacy of the office, Olivia dropped her bag on the couch and began without even bothering to sit.

"So yesterday after I left and went back to my apartment, guess who was there?"

"Who?"

"My guy."

"Your guy?"

"Yes, my guy. He was waiting for me at my apartment, his son got injured and he needs me to fix his back."

"Wait-" Savannah began to connect the dots; between everything that Olivia had told her up until this point and the news reports she'd seen on tv she drew one conclusion.

"The president? The man you've been talking about for the past few months has been the president?"

"Yes," Olivia said nervously.

"Olivia I'm a therapist, you could have told me that, I'm bound by law to keep our conversations confidential."

"I know, I just, I just didn't tell you, I was going to though."

Savannah shook her head and tried not to get distracted by that detail.

"He want's you to operate, do you think your ready for that?"

"Yes, I don't know, I feel confident that I can do this, you know... for him but also scared that I can't and Abby, oh Abby, she's mad at me for agreeing, she doesn't think I can do it which really bothers me because I need her support not doubt - oh and last night after I left the hospital, I got into a fight with you know who."

Olivia was going a little too fast for Savannah.

"What fight and with whom"

"With Fitz and I mean maybe it wasn't exactly a fight, he was honest with me about what he was feeling and I was honest with him. We also kissed."

"You kissed?"

"Yes we did."

"How did that make you feel?"

"Like I had a million little butterflies in my stomach."

"What else did you feel?"

"Like that past 6 months never happened."

"What else?" Savannah asked.

"Warm and fuzzy and safe," Olivia said with a smile.

"So what made you feel the need to get all of this of your chest like this, are you scared?"

"No, not really, I just don't know where to go from here. I know that he's mad at me for leaving and he wants me to be more open with him and I want to be that too, I don't know maybe some advice on what to do moving forward, I want him to feel secure, I don't want him to be worried that I'll leave again."

"Do you think you'll leave again?"

"I don't know."

"There lies the problem, you can't convince him that you won't leave again if you aren't sure yourself."

Olivia didn't answer the question, she was too busy mulling it over with herself.

"Olivia it all comes down to one very simple question: do you want to be with him or not? If not then you need to let him know that. If you want to be with him then you need to unequivocally let him know that. People go through traumatic events all the time, a part of healing is allowing your loved ones to be there for you and with you, there's no doubt that he's hurting too, you were gone for months and during which time he was unsure of whether or not you were alive and that takes a toll on someone."

Olivia started crying.

"I've been so selfish, I shouldn't have left him."

"No, leaving was something you felt you needed to do so you should stick by that decision but now it's time for you both to heal together and only then will you be able to move forward together."

Olivia wiped her eyes.

"So what do you suggest?" Olivia asked.

"You still haven't answered if you want to be with him or not."

"I want to be with him, I'm sure of it."

"Are you sure of it? Are you being honest?"

"I'm sure that I want to be with him, when I think about my future, I think about him, whenever I picture having kids, I think about him. I'm sure I want to be with him, I'm just unsure of how to move forward."

Savannah smiled.

"Then you should tell him that, be vulnerable with him, share your thoughts and feelings. From what you've told me about him, he seems to appreciate when you are open with him."

"He does, he likes when I tell him all my business," Olivia said with a smile.

"I must warn, it might be a little hard to maintain vulnerability over a long distance relationship, you both live in different states-"

"He kept my apartment in D.C and I'm gonna be there for a while working with Gerry."

"And after you've operated on Gerry?"

"I left New York and stayed in D.C. when I barely knew him, I took a leap of faith and I haven't regretted it yet. I suppose I could travel back and forth whenever I needed to, my office is in New York but I haven't been there in months and it's not like I'm going to be working much, if Gerry's surgery is successful then I'll slowly work myself back into full time."

"Honestly I think the surgery will be successful, you've struggled with migraines before and you were still very successful so I don't think it will be a problem now."

"I can't be sure of that."

"If you go into the operating room bracing yourself for a meltdown it will happen but if you go in there confident with a clear purpose as to what you need to do, trust me, you will be fine."

"You know what, you're right, I'm overthinking everything and I just need to calm down and-"

Olivia's phone started ringing. She pulled it out out her pocket and checked the caller Id.

"It's him."

She put the phone to her ear and answered.

"Hi."

"Hi."

"Where are you? Are you at the hospital?" She asked.

"No, I'm at the White House, I have some work I have to get done before I go to the hospital. Where are you?"

"I'm...at my therapist's office,"

"Uh oh, did I freak you out last night?" Fitz asked nervously.

"No, you didn't, I promise, I just wanted to chat for a little before I left for D.C."

"Oh yeah I almost forgot, I was calling to let you know that the plane was ready for you."

"Okay great, I'll head to the airport soon, will you be at the hospital by the time I get there."

"Yes hopefully."

"Okay so I guess I'll see you soon then. Bye."

"Bye."

Olivia hung up quickly.

"Savannah, I'm gonna have to run but I'll call you tomorrow, same time?"

"Yes, I'll be waiting for your call."

Olivia grabbed her purse and headed out. By the time she reached the street, she dialed Harrison and waited for him to pick up.

"Liv, what's up?"

"The plane is ready, are you going to meet me at my apartment or at the airport?"

"Apartment, I still think you should let me drive down."

"No, I need company on the plane, I'll just ship it later."

"Okay fine."

"Thank you Harry."

She hung up and headed home quickly. She had packed several things late in the night after she had finished discussing the logistics of the operation with Fitz.

By noon, both her and Harrison had made their way to the airport and after a one hour flight, they landed in D.C. By mid afternoon, they arrived at the hospital.

Olivia and Harrison spent a great deal of time speaking with the hospital director and some staff members in an attempt to lay out a clear plan for the operation and then afterwards they headed to Gerry's room.

When Olivia got to Gerry's room, she was surprised that Fitz wasn't there, only Mellie and Gerry.

"Hey Gerr," Olivia said as she entered their room.

"Hey Liv, I've been waiting for you all morning."

"Yea, I've been here for a little while, I just had a meeting with some staff that will be helping out with your surgery and the hospital director."

"How did it go?"

"It went great, don't you worry about a thing."

"Hello Olivia," Mellie interjected.

Olivia turned to face her.

"Hi Mellie, how are you?" she turned back to Gerry, "by the way this is Harrison."

Harrison waved.

"Hello Gerry, Mrs. Grant."

"Hi Harrison, thank you for helping with everything," Gerry said kindly.

"No problem buddy."

"Yes harrison, thank you very much," Mellie said kindly as well.

It wasn't lost on Olivia that Mellie offered her no such gratitude but she didn't care, she wasn't doing it for Mellie.

"Okay so Gerry, I'm going to examine you for a little while, are you ready?" Olivia asked.

"Yea, it won't hurt right?" He asked.

"No, it won't, I've been studying your test results but I need to physically see what's going on with your back first."

Gerry chuckled.

"Okay."

Olivia slipped on a pair of gloves from a box that was in the room and so did Harrison.

"So what will you be examining Olivia?" Mellie asked.

Olivia stared at her blankly for a moment, she thought her question was stupid.

"Uhm his back."

Olivia scratched her temple and turned back to Gerry.

"Okay Gerr, Harrison and I are going to flip you on your belly okay?"

"Okay."

Olivia signaled to Harrison for help turning Gerry on his back and as soon a Harrison was walking over, Fitz entered the room.

"Hey, sorry I'm late, I got caught up in a few meetings."

Olivia turned to him and smiled.

"No worries, you're fine, Harrison and I were just beginning."

"Yeah dad, you're technically not late," Gerry said with a smile.

Fitz chuckled.

"Okay so what's going on now."

"Hello Fitz," Mellie said from the window, slightly annoyed he didn't acknowledge her.

"Hello Mellie," Fitz said to appease her.

"Well Harrison and I were going to flip him but since you are here, you and Harrison can do the honors," Olivia said lightly.

"Absolutely."

Fitz pulled off his jacket and walked over to the bed and helped flip Gerry in his stomach.

"He's all yours," he said to Olivia.

"Okay Gerry, I'm gonna undo the strings holding your gown together," said Olivia.

"Okay," Gerry answered.

Olivia undid the string revealing Gerry's naked back and backside.

"Oh my god, you're gonna see by butt," Gerry complained.

"I've seen a lot of butts, hundreds of them."

"Did you see dad's s butt?" Gerry asked.

There was an awkward silence for a moment, Olivia looked to Fitz , she could hear Harrison chuckling softly a few feet behind her. She decided to deflect.

"Wow, Gerry look at your back!"

"Oh my god, is it really bad, what's wrong with it?"

"Oh, I just wanted to change the subject."

Fitz chuckled at her humor, "she was still funny," he thought to himself, Harrison laughed at well. Mellie rolled her eyes and though she wasn't pleased, she kept quiet.

Olivia spent the evening working with Gerry until she was satisfied that she had everything she needed. Harrison left as soon as they were finished, he had reservations at a hotel that wasn't too far from the hospital, Olivia would be staying at her apartment. She was a little nervous because it would be her first time spending the night alone since she came back, Abby made sure she was home every night even if it was really late, since the incident and immediately she felt bad for suggesting to Abby that she wasn't a good friend because she was. She made a mental note to make up with Abby soon because Abby wasn't a friend she was prepared to lose.

Gerry had fallen asleep a while earlier, Mellie went back to the whitehouse for the night, Fitz had agreed to let her stay there for the optics. Fitz had stepped out to take a call and Olivia was just waiting for him to get back so he could take her home. She really wanted to talk to him about all the things she discussed with Savannah earlier but she didn't want to forewarn him and freak him out so she thought it would be best to just bring it up when she had him alone.

She was a little distracted by her thoughts and didn't realize Fitz was calling her until he was directly beside her.

"Liv?"

She looked up at him.

"Yeah?"

"Are you ready?"

"Yep," she said as she grabbed her blazer and purse.

"I had Greg drop your bags to your apartment earlier."

"Thanks."

Fitz held the door open for her and then he walked her down the car that was by the private hospital entrance, away from the press.

After a quick drive, they were back at the apartment. Fitz opened the door with the key and then gave her both his copies.

He held the door open for her as she walked in and then closed it behind him and flipped some lights on.

Olivia walked around the apartment, taking it in. She expected it to be dusty after not being there for months but it was sparkling clean, she had no doubt Fitz had it cleaned.

She saw her old suitcases from her DWB trip.

"I thought I lost these," she said as she walked over to the pile of suitcases, both hers and Abby's.

"I had them brought back when they found them."

She knelt beside the suitcases and opened them and began going through her things.

At the top was the white bikini she wore in Bali, she held it up to Fitz and smiled.

"Do you remember this?"

He chuckled.

"I couldn't forget it if I tried."

She continued going through her things, every specific piece of clothing brought back a specific memory and even though they were good memories of things like her time at the festival of the Punjab and her time in the Indian marketplace; they were overwhelming and she began to cry.

"Liv."

He walked over and knelt beside her and wrapped his arms around her and held her into his chest.

She wrapped her hands around his waist and allowed herself to be held. After she got the emotion out, she wiped her eyes and took a deep breath.

"The last time I was here with you, I couldn't remember a time when I was happier."

The sentence was extremely painful for Fitz to hear but also brought him a sense of nostalgia.

"I could try to make you happy again...if you let me."

He turned her and held her face to him so he could look directly at her as he spoke.

"Liv, I love you, surely you must know that."

"I do, I know."

"And I want to be with you and if that means not running for reelection then I'm willing to do that. I haven't submitted my re-election papers, I know it's not ideal but once I finished my term then-"

"Fitz I'd never ask you give up running for re-election. Look, I was talking to my therapist about last night-"

"So I did freak you out?"

"No, you didn't, you just reminded me how much I want to be with you so I was talking with her and I decided to move back here with you."

"You're gonna stay?"

Fitz smiled as he couldn't hide his happiness.

"Yes, I love you and I want to stay here with you and I'm thinking after Gerry heals I can probably start doing some shifts at James Madison again to get my groove back."

Fitz smiled.

"I still have a lot of issues I'm working through but I don't suppose those are gonna go away anytime soon so I want to work them out with you and we could get back planning our lives together and do all the things we said we'd do."

"I'm going to kiss you now."

She smiled as he held her and kissed her tenderly and then hugged her.

"I've missed you so much," he breath out, "are you gonna be okay here, by yourself, I promised Gerry I'd stay with him tonight."

"It's my first night being by myself but I need to do it."

"I'll stay here with you until you fall asleep."

"Don't spoil me, there are gonna be nights you can't be here and that's okay, I need to do this."

He kissed her forehead.

"Okay but Gerry is sleeping so can I hang out with you for a little bit?"

She sat up.

"Sure, maybe we can order some food, I just realized that I'm hungry."

He chuckled.

"There should be food in the fridge, I had my assistant order some stuff and stock up, I don't know what she got though."

He slipped off her heels and stood up.

"Lets check," she said as headed to kitchen and Fitz followed.

She opened the fridge and it was fully stocked with fruits, vegetables, snacks, drinks, pretty much everything she could think of.

"Wow, tell your assistant thanks."

She grabbed some grapes, blueberries and strawberries and washed them, then sat at the kitchen island with Fitz.

"I had a little fight with Abby this morning," she said as she ate a strawberry.

"You did?"

"Yea, I was angry that she didn't tell me you called and -"

Olivia was distracted by the fact that he was smiling so hard.

"What?"

"Nothing, I'm just happy you're talking to me and you're here."

She chuckled.

"Fitz don't be weird about it."

"I'm not, just ignore me, continue."

She laughed.

"Here," she said as she fed him a grape.

"When you said you said weren't going to run for reelection, is that something you wanted to do or were you going to do that for me?"

"Honestly, I was going to do that for you, I thought being president - even though it brought us together, it thought it was coming in between us."

She smiled.

"It's not. Asking you not to run for president is like asking me to not be a doctor, you'd never do that to me so I'd never do that to you and also I hear that only half the country hates you, that's not too bad."

"Well Cyrus is going to be happy to hear that, he had a meltdown when I told him I wasn't going to run again."

"Did he turn red like he did when I told him I was going to tell everyone you weren't fit to be president after the surgery and that they should let Sally Langston run the country?

"Yeah about the same shade of red," Fitz joked.

They kept the conversation light until it was time for Fitz to leave and while he was still reluctant to leave, Olivia assured him that she would be okay and so he kissed her goodbye and left to be at Gerry's side for the night.


	31. Chapter 31

The next day when Olivia arrived at the hospital with Harrison she headed straight to the director's office. She knew Fitz wasn't going to be there for at least a few hours because he was trying to get some work done after he'd stayed at the hospital with Gerry during the night until Mellie came early in the morning to release him.

Olivia was particularly agitated because she didn't get any sleep in the night. She was so anxious about being by herself that she ended up staying up all night packing away her things and then when she finished, she spent the rest of the night detailing her plan for Gerry. In the midst of all that she had a bad migraine but she recovered and continued doing her work until morning.

There was a lot to get done before the operation and she had asked Harrison to arrange with Daniel's lab for Gerry's marrow sample to be processed but Daniel was insisting on speaking with her directly. She was also debating whether she wanted to get a specialist to perform the bone marrow operation or if she wanted to do it herself. She thought doing it herself was a great way to get warmed up but she just wasn't sure if it would make a difference, it was a rather simple procedure.

By the time she got back to Gerry's room in the afternoon, Cyrus and Mellie were there with Gerry, who was chatting on the phone with someone and by the redness on Gerry's cheeks she could tell he was speaking with Kenna.

"Hello," she said to both Cyrus and Mellie.

They were both standing by the window, speaking in whispers not initially realizing Olivia was in the room until she spoke. Cyrus was the first to return the greeting.

"Hello Dr. Pope," Cyrus said as he walked over to Olivia and Harrison.

"This is Harrison and please call me Olivia," Olivia said as she casually touched Harrison's arm.

Cyrus stretched his hand and shook Harrison's hand.

"Good to meet you Harrison."

"Same here sir," Harrison said with a smile.

Olivia walked over to Gerry who was still on the phone and checked the patient chart that was by his bed to see what medication he was given and when, by his nurses.

"Kenna can I call you later? - okay, - later, bye."

Gerry hung up.

"Liv, how are you?"

"I'm good."

"Are you sure?"

Olivia thought it was an odd question but she answered nonetheless.

"Yeah, I'm fine, how are you feeling?"

"I feel like I want to get up and walk around and stretch."

"I know, it sucks but if all goes well, it will only be temporary."

"When do you think surgery will be?"

"I'm just waiting on one call then I'll can tell you definitively when the surgeries will be."

Gerry sighed, she could tell something was bothering.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't believe this happen to me, just a split second and now I'm paralyzed."

"It's okay Gerry, it'll take a little time but you'll get better."

"What if I don't, what if I'm the only person you can't fix."

Mellie ran over to take over from Olivia and sat on Gerry's bed and held his hands, Olivia took that as her cue and stepped back to give them space.

"Gerry, it's okay-" Mellie began to say but then Fitz walked in.

He could see that Gerry was upset and Mellie was coddling him.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"Oh nothing sweetie, Gerry was just having doubts about whether or not Olivia could fix him," Mellie said with faux concern.

She was hoping to get under Olivia's nerve with her comment but Olivia didn't seem to care.

Fitz looked to Olivia, then Mellie, then Gerry.

"You shouldn't be worried Gerry, Olivia is the best in the world, I think your chances are pretty good," Fitz said as he walked over to Gerry's bed.

"I know it's just that mom told me Olivia had tried to kill herself a while ago and that she wasn't in a good place... mentally and I got worried."

Olivia froze and for what might have been 10 seconds but fell like an eternity, no one said a word, not even Fitz. Everyone was looking at her; Gerry, Mellie, Cyrus, Harrison and Fitz, they were all waiting on her reaction and in that moment, she was so flushed with embarrassment that she turned and walked out as quickly as she could.

Harrison chased behind her immediately.

"I shouldn't have said that," Gerry said apologetically.

"Why would you tell him that?" Fitz said angrily to Mellie.

"It wasn't on purpose."

Fitz didn't respond to her, instead he turned his attention back to Gerry.

"Gerr, I'm gonna go see if Olivia's alright."

Gerry nodded.

Fitz got up and quickly went to find Olivia.

"Of course let's all make sure Olivia is okay," Mellie said with disdain.

Gerry turned to Mellie.

"You know mom, I blame you."

"You realize I'm your mother and Olivia isn't right, I can't believe you're taking their side, she stole your father from me."

Cyrus decided to intervene.

"Mellie, I don't really think that's an appropriate thing to say to him."

"Mom, Olivia didn't steal dad from you, it's not like you and dad were having a great marriage and I'm not taking sides, she's nice to me and I like her, am I not suppose to like her because you don't like her? She's gonna fix my back mom."

Mellie shrugged.

"Just forget it."

"Whatever mom."

As Fitz walked down the hallway, he saw Harrison approaching him.

"She's in the doctor's lounge."

"Is she alright."

"Yeah, just annoyed."

"Where is the doctor's lounge?"

"Pass the double doors straight to the back."

"Okay thanks."

Harrison headed back to the room while Fitz went to find Olivia. Fitz followed Harrison's direction and when he got the lounge, he knocked the door hoping she would answer.

"Liv?"

There was no answer but he heard footsteps approaching the door. She opened the door for him and stepped aside so he could enter. Her expression was unreadable, she couldn't tell if she was upset or not.

"Liv, are you okay?"

She folded her arms and pouted.

"Your ex wife is a bitch."

She huffed and then stormed out and headed back to Gerry's room. She wasn't going to give Mellie the satisfaction of thinking she won because of the stunt she pulled. Fitz followed behind her smiling at her feistiness. Olivia walked quickly and with purpose, he thought maybe she was going to yell at Mellie but she walked into the room casually. Gerry was the first to speak.

"You know Liv, this was my bad, I'm really sorry, didn't mean to ...make things weird and bring that up, it was none of my business, I was just worried about you."

"It's okay Gerry don't worry about it," she said with a smile.

"I'm gonna go back to the white house and get some work done, I just came to hang with Gerry for a little while," Cyrus said quickly as he grabbed his jacket and made a beeline towards the door, he wanted to leave before things got more tense.

Before anyone could respond to Cyrus' abrupt departure, Harrison's phone rang and he answered, allowing Cyrus to get away.

"Anna- oh, Mr. Benancourt…sure, of course, she's right here."

Harrison walked closer to Olivia and held the phone to his chest.

"He wants to speak with you," Harrison whispered.

Olivia shrugged and took the phone from Harrison.

"Bonjour Daniel, Comment allez-vous?" she said cheerfully in a stark contrast to her mood moments earlier.

As soon as Fitz heard it was Daniel, he felt a pang of jealousy. He wholeheartedly did not want Olivia speaking to him or any other man that might try to steal her away from him, if he had his way, as unreasonable as it was, Stephen and Harrison would have gotten the boot a long time ago. He walked closer and though he couldn't hear what Daniel was saying, he could tell Daniel was talking her ear off. He spoke french but not as well as Olivia and Olivia was speaking way too fast for him to keep up to what she was saying.

"Je m'excuse de ne pas avoir pris vos appels."

Fitz translated what she said to loosely mean that she was apologizing or not answering his calls.

"Je vais très bien...J'en ai besoin accéléré...no…oui Président Grant...son fils...demain...Merci beaucoup - tu es un bon ami… ah magnifique.. Thank you… au revoir."

Olivia sighed as she hung up, she could see Harrison dying laughing.

"It's not funny Harrison."

"I'm sorry, he's just - let me shut up now," Harrison said as he continued laughing.

"Gerry, I'm going to schedule your bone marrow extraction surgery for tomorrow afternoon."

"Really," Fitz responded.

"Yes, now that I've confirmed that they'll be able to work on the sample. Once I extract it tomorrow afternoon, we can send it to France overnight and have it back within 24 hours for surgery."

Gerry looked shocked.

"Gerry, are you okay?" she asked.

"No, yea, It's just I didn't think it would be so soon but that's good right?"

"Yea the sooner the better, your injury is fresh - so to speak, so your sample will be more effective on a fresh injury."

"Okay, so I guess I need to get a lot of rest then."

"Yes and no eating beginning tomorrow at 8am okay, so make sure you have breakfast before that, only fruits though, no meat or starch or wheat okay?"

"Got it."

"Okay, I need to speak with your parents outside for a sec."

"Okay."

Olivia led the way outside and waited, Fitz, Harrison and Mellie followed and gathered around her in the hallway.

"Before you start, I almost forgot to give you this," Fitz reached into his pocket and pulled out a credit card, "this is the expense card for the operation, just charge everything to that."

Olivia took the card and handed it to Harrison. They had been charging everything to Gerry's insurance but shipping the sample would need different funds so she was glad Fitz gave her the card.

"Umm okay, so I'm going to schedule the procedure for 1pm tomorrow, we won't sedate him because I'm taking the tissue from his lower back so he won't be able to feel it. The procedure doesn't take a very long time and it's very low risk. Once I have the sample we'll send it to France, that process usually take 24hrs, during which time we'll make sure everything is prepared for the operation which I'll schedule for Friday at 9am. I estimate it'll take me anywhere from 12-14 hours, maybe more or less. He will be sedated heavily and he'll sleep for a day or so after the procedure. Once he's up, he'll be in a lot of pain but I won't be able to give him the strong stuff because that will slow his nerve activity and sabotage his healing process, I'll give him shots of cortisone, that will make it bearable. Healing really should take about 3 weeks but I told him a month so he would think he's healing faster than normal."

Fitz chuckled.

"Good move," Fitz said with a smile.

Olivia blushed unashamedly.

Mellie looked at them both and scoffed silently, Harrison stood back watching their exchange; thoroughly entertained by it all.

"Anything else Olivia?" Mellie said coldly.

"Yes, actually," Olivia paused, "I appreciate your concern for my mental health but seen as though you are no psychiatrist I'd like for you to keep your evaluations to yourself."

"How dare you-"

"How dare I what," Olivia said curtly.

"You know what, I don't have time for this I'm gonna go back to my son."

"Yeah, you do that."

Mellie scoffed and stared at both Fitz and Olivia, now she was flushed with embarrassment. She didn't have anything to say back to Olivia so she strutted back into Gerry's room.

"Ignore her, that's what I do," Fitz said to Olivia.

Olivia smiled.

"Enough about her, weren't you supposed to buy me lunch today?"

"Was I?" Fitz pretended not to remember.

Olivia turned to Harrison and handed him all the paperwork she was clutching.

"Harry, can you take care of this stuff with the hospital manager please?"

"Sure."

Harrison excused himself and left.

"When we talked this morning you didn't tell me how last night went? You've been avoiding it all day?"

Olivia sighed.

"Fitz, it's just…growing pains that's all, it'll take some getting used to."

"Liv, did you sleep last night?"

"Maybe."

"Liv, you promised you'd be more open with me."

He caressed her cheek and she instinctively stepped back to put some distance between them.

"Fitz, people will see."

"I'm a divorced man Olivia, let them see whatever they want to see."

"No, I'm Gerry's doctor."

She looked up at him and she could see he was frustrated.

"Are you coming to visit me tonight?"

"Do you want me to?" He asked almost sarcastically.

"You're frustrated with me-"

"I'm not frustrated with you Liv, I just want you to be honest with me, I don't want to have to guess what's going on with you, I want you to tell me."

"Okay, babe why don't we talk later tonight."

She caressed his arm in a way that could be construed as casual touch between friends but it meant something completely different to them.

Fitz immediately started grinning.

"Is that a yes?" She asked with a smile.

"Of course it's a yes, is that even a real question," he chuckled.

"Okay well I'm going to go sort some things out-"

"What the hell was the deal with Daniel earlier?"

Fitz was so caught up he almost forgot to chastise her about Daniel.

"He insisted on speaking to me before he accepted the sample, he was just being annoying."

"Is he trying to steal you from me?"

Fitz said it jokingly but she knew Fitz he was serious, he could hardly be subtle with his jealousy.

"Fitz no one can steal me from you," she said coyly.

Fitz smiled.

"That's what I like to hear."

"I know, that's why I said it," Olivia joked.

"Okay so I'm gonna go handle this stuff with Harry and then head home, call me okay."

"Okay."

Later in the evening when Olivia got home, the first thing she did was head to the bathroom and take a quick shower. Fitz called her when she was on her way home and told he'd be there around 9pm and that he was bringing food. She used the time to do some online shopping, not that she needed anything she just wasn't sure what else to do. She watched the clock for hours until there was a knock on her door, his knock.

She walked quickly to the door and when she opened it, she could see him smiling ear to ear with two brown paper bags of food in his hands. He was dressed casually, in a gray navy sweatshirt and pants.

"Can I come in?" he asked.

She smiled and puckered her lips for a kiss. Fitz was pleasantly surprised by her gesture and he really appreciated that she was putting an effort into repairing their relationship.

He leaned down and gave her waiting lips a soft peck.

"Why yes you can, good sir," she said as she smiled and gave him a curtsey.

The first thing he did was take his shoes off (he remembered her rule) then he headed to the couch. He placed the bags on the coffee table in front of the couch. Olivia joined him on the couch after she closed the door.

"Mm this smells great, what did you get?" she said as she sniffed the bags of food.

"Shrimp scampi for you, chicken parm for me."

He took the food out of the bags and handed her the scampi.

"I'll get us some drinks, what do you want?"

"Do you have beer?"

"Yes, one bottle of beer coming right up."

She went to kitchen and got a beer for Fitz and a canned soda for herself and then went right back to the couch. Fitz was already eating when she got back, so she took her fork and started eating too.

"Why are you so casual tonight, don't you have to go back to the hospital?"

"No, not tonight."

"Really, Gerry didn't want you there tonight?"

Fitz smiled.

"He told me not to stay with him tonight which knowing Gerry he just wanted me to stay here with you."

Olivia smiled.

"Well, I will thank him profusely tomorrow."

Fitz took a few more bites and then stopped eating and placed his food on the table, she knew that meant he wanted to talk to her seriously so she placed her food down as well.

"Liv you know what I'm going to ask you."

She took a deep breath before responding.

"I didn't sleep last night after you left, I thought I could but I couldn't."

"Was it because you were alone here?"

"Probably. I'm used to Abby being right down the hall from me, if I go to sleep and have a bad dream or something, I'd just go sleep in her room with her but like I said I have to adjust."

"Yes but you don't have to adjust all by yourself, I can stay here with you sometimes and when I can't make it where then you can stay with me."

Olivia smiled.

"Stay with you at the whitehouse, no way."

Fitz chuckled.

"I knew you were going to say that, so I have another solution, when I can't physically make it here, I will defy science and be in two places at once, how does that sound?"

"Now that makes sense," she teased.

"Yes, I thought you might like that but you know we'll need to work out an actual solution right?"

"I know."

She snuggled closer to him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Ask me a question, anything you want to know."

He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer to him, as close as she could get. She was always careful to wear sleeves but she didn't tonight and Fitz could see clearly the scars that ran down her arms. He took her arm in his and ran his thumb over her scar.

"Can you tell me why you did that?"

"I just had a bad night that's all?"

"That's not an explanation Liv, that's an excuse."

She let out a soft breath and began.

"When I got back to New York the ptsd was worse than I anticipated. I couldn't sleep for days at a time and even when I did fall asleep, I'd just have nightmares that I'd wake up from. I couldn't eat, I could barely take showers because I was so afraid of the water, the constant panic attacks and migraines didn't make it any easier. It had been four days since that the last time I slept on the night it happened, I'm still not even sure how I lasted so long but I was really tired and I kept taking pills to keep me awake. I started hallucinating and it was like I could feel every single thing they'd done to hurt me and I just wanted it to stop. I figured if I hurt myself then no one else could so I went to the bathroom and I filled my bathtub to the brim with warm water and then I took a razor and I did what I did then I got in the tub and I waited. I didn't take very long for me to lose consciousness, the next time I woke up I was in the hospital with Abby."

Fitz was quiet for a while and she wondered if she told him too much.

"When I called to speak with you, why didn't you talk to me?"

Olivia shrugged.

"Because I was angry."

"At me?"

"No Fitz not at you. I was angry that I didn't succeed."

"Olivia, why would you be angry that you didn't succeed?"

"Because my father was still alive and I knew that as long as he was alive he'd still try to hurt me. After I left the hospital it got worse, so bad that I was going to try again but then you called, I wasn't going to answer but for some reason I did and then you told me that you killed him in that raid and I don't think I've ever felt so at peace before, that night I slept like a damn baby. Fear can be crippling and I didn't realize how afraid of him I was until he died. The next morning I called my therapist and went for my first appointment and slowly things started getting better."

It was a lot to take in and she could tell Fitz was processing it all.

"Hey don't go silent on me, you were the one who asked."

"No, I'm really glad you told me. I feel like when I know what your going through I can be a better man to you."

"I'm glad you mentioned that because now I need you to tell me what happened to you while I was gone."

"What do you mean what happened to me?"

"I mean I was gone Fitz for a long time, I imagine if it was you that were taken, I'd have a hard time too."

He chuckled humorlessly.

"Hard is an understatement for what it was like not knowing where you were or if you were alive for three months."

She wrapped both her arms around his neck and nestled him then she kissed him tenderly on the lips.

"I love you so much Fitz."

She kissed him again, she expected him to take over the kiss but he didn't, he was unusually well behaved.

"What? You aren't gonna shove your tongue down my throat, don't hold back on me now Fitz," she teased.

He smiled and pulled her back and kissed her again, the way he wanted to, with want and passion and a whole lot of tongue and he didn't stop until he thought they both might pass out from not breathing. When Fitz broke the kiss, Olivia buried her face into his chest giggling.

"You know, you're pretty great right now but don't get comfortable because if you wanna be with me there are gonna be rules," she said as she sat up and threw her legs over his lap.

Fitz pulled off his sweater to get more comfortable, he wasn't sure if it was the room that was warm or if it was the fact that Olivia so close to him but he was hot and he knew that it wasn't a good time to have the feelings he had because he didn't think she was ready. He wasn't going to make a move unless she expressed her unmitigated desire for him, however long that took he planned on waiting, whether or was a day or a year in the future.

"Rules? What rules?" He asked.

"You want me to be your woman right?"

"You are my woman," Fitz said definitively.

She giggled.

"Good answer, you're smart it's almost like you went to college or something."

"Still a troublemaker aren't you?"

"Old habits die hard."

Olivia readjusted herself and laid her head in his lap, the caffeine was wearing off and drowsiness was upon her.

"Tell me a funny story that happen to you."

Fitz smiled.

"I have one but you won't think of me the same I can promise you that."

Olivia sat up.

"Exciting, I wanna wear it," she said cheerfully in stark contrast to the tiredness she was feeling.

"Okay, I was in my junior year at Harvard, I remember we used to get fucked up all the time, me and the other rich brats I hung out with. We did mostly mushroom and weed, never the hardcore stuff, I never did coke like 43."

"Who's 43?"

"My predecessor."

"I knew that," Olivia lied.

"One night I was in my dorm room, there was this random dog that used to wander around the grounds back then and we took it upon ourselves to hide him in our dorm even though it was again the rules. Anyways, I was high one night, my roommate went to his girlfriend's house and it was just me and the dog, his name was Thor."

"You guys were assholes."

"Yes we were," Fitz laughed, "I was high and spread eagle on the couch in some really huge underpants with my balls hanging out. I had the munchies and I was eating nachos, I felt something wet tickling me."

"Fitz don't say it," Olivia laughed.

"Olivia this damn dog must've been licking my balls for about 20 minutes before I realized, that's how high I was."

"You're disgusting."

She could barely get the words out because she was laughing so hard.

"Did you stop him?" She said as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Honestly I don't think I did, I just remember waking up the next morning and it was really awkward between us and I told him he had to go."

"You kicked him out?"

"Don't worry I brought him to a shelter, he was cool though, you would have liked him. Now that I think about it, we smoked so much around him that he might have been high at the time too."

Olivia was still laughing.

"That poor dog, now I feel like I need a dog just to make up for what you did to him."

Fitz chuckled and watched as Olivia laughed and laid in his lap once again.

"Are you nervous about tomorrow?" He asked as he stroked her hair.

"A little, it's not a complicated procedure though, it takes maybe 20 minutes, I think it will go great."

"So do I."

He leaned back on the couch and continued stroking her hair. They sat quietly and not before long Fitz realized she was a little too still and when he looked down, she was fast asleep.


	32. Chapter 32

The next morning Olivia woke up cuddled next to Fitz on the bed, she could feel his arms wrapped tightly around her and it was a welcomed change from the past few months, after all, she slept straight through the night without so much as a dream, her mind was completely blank and at peace.

She tossed a little to find her phone and in tossing, she woke Fitz up.

"Morning," he said with a smile.

She smiled and kissed him on the lips.

"Good morning."

"How did you sleep?"

"I slept beautifully."

Fitz smiled and sat up.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"That's what I was about to check but then I realized that I left my phone by the couch, it can't be past 6:30 though."

Fitz remembered he had his watch in his pocket and pulled it out to check the time.

"It is 6:16, which is great because that means I can take a shower before I leave."

Olivia got behind him and wrapped her arms around him.

"You aren't going anywhere," she said playfully.

"Why not?" Fitz said as he stood up.

Olivia didn't let go of him, instead she climb his back and wrapped her legs around him and held on tight for her piggyback ride.

"Because you're so warm, come back in bed and cuddle with me," she whined.

Fitz laughed and swung her around and then dropped her on the bed. Olivia squealed in delight and waited for Fitz climb in the bed and join her.

Olivia asking him to lay in bed with her a little longer was not something he was prepared to refuse. Once they were back in the bed, she snuggled beside him and covered them both with the blanket.

"So, what's your schedule for today?"

"It's light, I'm going to see Gerry then I have an intelligence briefing back at the whitehouse and then a meeting with my secretary of state and then I'll be back at the hospital in time for the procedure, I've had Sally standing in for me for the most part."

"Sally Langston, why would you pick her as your V.P., if for some reason you had to resign or something, would you trust her to lead the country, she's nuts?"

"I was too moderate, I needed a counterbalance in order to appeal to more far right voters, I was winning the primaries, she was losing but she was still my biggest opponent so we made a deal. I'm sure she still hates my guts though but she's counting on me to campaign for her when it's her turn to run, so that keeps her in line."

"Is her husband gay? There were rumors."

"Oh he is. He flirted with Cyrus' husband James before, right in front of me and boy was it uncomfortable."

Olivia chuckled.

"What about you and Mellie, what's been going on with you two since the divorce?"

"Well, it was pretty smooth, she moved out of the white house and went back to live in our house in Beverly Hills, well not our house anymore, she got it in the divorce along with a lot of money, 2 of my cars; my favorite cars at that and the apartments in New York and Florida."

"Wow."

"Yea and I don't really care about the apartment but my cars, that was low of her, she could have bought other cars but no."

"Which cars did she take and it's not like you can really drive them so quit whining."

Fitz eyebrows shot up as if Olivia had blasphemed against him.

"She took my Rolls Royce, it was a gift to me from the actual Rolls Royce company when I was working at my dad's bank and she took it, it was custom."

Fitz was starting to go off on a tangent about Mellie so Olivia decided to reel him in and change the subject.

"It's no longer your father's company, he gone."

"It's mine in deed only, I set it up in a blind trust until I leave office to avoid conflicts of interest."

"Oh okay well that's normal."

Olivia started sniffing him and Fitz thought it was odd.

"What do I stink or something."

She chuckled.

"No, you smell nice. What? You let a dog lick your balls but I can't sniff you."

Fitz burst out in laughter.

"Hey, I did not enjoy that, I was taken advantage of."

"Yeah right," she said laughing.

"You know I keep forgetting to ask you about your goddaughter, you never told me about her."

"It never came up," she said with a chuckle, "she is cute though isn't she?"

"Yes she is what's the word she uses for muffins again, I can't remember but she didn't say the whole word."

Olivia smiled.

"She calls muffins: 'fuff fuff', she calls me: 'va' and Abby: 'be'. Her mom wanted to name her after me but that would be too confusing so I told them to name her Sahara and give her my name as a middle name, thus my beautiful goddaughter is named Sahara Olivia Amaya."

"Amaya, I've never heard that last name before?"

"Yeah well her father is from El Salvador, it's a very popular surname there. Her mom is from Brooklyn, we worked together at Columbia and we became very close and when she gave birth, she asked me to be the godmother, at first I was reluctant but then I accepted and I'm glad I did because Sahara is a blast, she the funniest little baby ever and she's so bad too, she breaks my shit all the time and she goes in my closet and takes all my shoes of the racks and tries them on, she's crazy."

Fitz laughed.

"She's not bad, she's just exploring."

"One time she pulled down a rack of books off my bookshelf and I told her she had to pick them up before I counted to 10 and when I started counting she literally stared at me and counted with me, it was the funniest thing ever. Most of the times I just like messing with her, whenever she does something bad and she knows it, she runs off and sometimes, I chase her and she dies laughing because she thinks it so funny."

Olivia realized she was ranting and didn't want to bore him.

"Feel free to shut me up, once I start talking about her I don't stop."

Fitz smiled.

"No, it's pretty funny, you have to let me meet her again sometime."

"Really?" Olivia said with a smile.

"Of course, we could both wreak havoc on you."

As Fitz said the words his cell phone that was in the living room rang.

"Let me go get that," he said as he got out the bed and headed to the living room.

Olivia got up and headed to the living room too, just in time to see Fitz end the call.

"That was Gerry," he said as he turned to face her, "he just wanted to know what time you were coming by, I told him we'd be there soon."

"Okay, so why don't you go shower and stuff at the white house then meet me at the hospital."

"Deal but only if you give me a kiss first."

Olivia happily obliged, giving Fitz a soft, wholesome kiss on the lips. She waited as he threw his sweater and shoes on and then she walked him to the door and saw him out. Once Fitz was gone, she went to shower and ready herself to go to the hospital.

When she got to the hospital, she immediately kicked things in motion spending the morning making sure everything was in order so that once they had the sample it could be shipped off immediately. She was back and forth between Gerry's room and Stephen office (which she had been using as her impromptu office) until the procedure was only a few minutes away then Olivia headed back to Gerry's room with two nurses to wheel him to the operating room. As she walked into Gerry's room, she could see Fitz sitting at the side of Gerry's bed, mumbling something to him. She didn't want to interrupt them so she stood back but it was as if Fitz could sense her because he turned around the second she attempted to stand back.

"Liv's ready for you," he said to Gerry.

She smiled.

"Yes, I am, don't worry Gerry like I said, you'll be up and you won't feel a thing."

"I know, I'm ready."

Olivia turned around and signal for the nurses to take him. Fitz got up and allowed the nurses to take him.

"Where's Mellie?" Olivia asked.

"She went to take a call or something."

"Oh okay, well we'll see you in a half hour I guess."

"Good luck."

"Thanks," she said with a smile.

Olivia headed to the operating room right after. Everyone was ready and waiting for her so she quickly washed her hands and began. She had Harrison and one of the other nurses flip Gerry to his belly and then she cleaned the area she was going to extract the sample from.

Gerry was awake but he didn't say anything.

Once the area was cleaned she took the needles and proceeded to extract the first sample.

"So Gerry, what's your favorite band?"

She could feel him smiling.

"Are you trying to distract me?"

"Yeah."

He chuckled.

"My favorite band is Foster the people."

Olivia continued working as she spoke.

"I love them, pumped up kicks has to be one of the best songs ever recorded."

"Olivia it is the best song ever recorded without a doubt, there is no debate."

"There are a few that can beat it if you ask me."

"Which ones do you think could beat it?"

"Well Fluorescent Adolescent by Arctic Monkeys is pretty good, Four Horsemen by Metallica is good too, I could keep going."

"Olivia you are insane, Metallica is good but they're not that good and The Strokes are better than the Arctic Monkeys, Julian Casablancas is a rockstar."

"I agree, I love The Strokes, I saw them live in New York, they were amazing."

"You did! No way!"

"I did yeah, when they were on tour back in 2008, they played all their hits."

"I wish I could see them live."

Olivia chuckled.

"I thought you like foster the people?" Olivia teased.

"Yes but The Strokes are legends."

"I don't disagree with you there."

Gerry was quiet for a while and he wondered when Olivia would begin.

"Hey Liv, did you start yet?"

"I'm done, let me just bandage you up and we'll take you right back to your room."

"Wait seriously?"

"Yeah, I told you it would be short, it's not my fault you didn't believe," Olivia said jokingly.

"Wow, it's really done."

Olivia bandaged him and and finished a few other postoperative protocols and then they took him back to his room.

Olivia and Harrison stayed back because there were things they had to do with the sample before it was shipped off.

Fitz expected to see Olivia right after the procedure but to his dismay, she didn't come back to hospital room until almost 6 in the evening.

When she came back, Gerry was asleep and Mellie was gone.

"Where's Mellie?" she asked as she walked into the room.

"She left when Gerry fell asleep."

"Oh okay. Are you staying here tonight?" she asked.

"Yeah, I don't want Gerry to wake up to an empty room."

"That's not unreasonable," she joked.

"Will you stay with me?"

She smiled and walked closer to him.

"Of course I will, but only if you feed me okay."

"What do you want to eat?"

"I'm thinking mexican maybe?"

"Okay, I'll have Josh go pick some up for us."

"I'm surprised Gerry went to sleep so early."

"I don't know what you did to him but when he came back he wouldn't shut up about you."

Olivia chuckled

"He got poped, no one's immune to it."

Fitz smiled.

"Well thank you, he seems really optimistic about the surgery."

"No problem baby, I'm just glad I can help."

Fitz turned and faced her.

"Get your ass over her so I can kiss you."

"What?" She asked shyly.

"You heard me."

She look to the door then back to Fitz.

"What if someone walks in on us?"

"Get your ass over here."

She slowly stepped towards him and smiled when he held her face and planted a wet kiss on her lips. She felt a shiver shot up her spine at his sheer touch, it was something she couldn't imagine getting used to. She held his hand up to her face so she could feel his palm against her cheek.

"One more kiss," she said softly.

Fitz gave her another kiss on the lips but this time he let his lips linger on hers.

"You're beautiful, I can't tell you that enough."

"You shouldn't tell me that enough."

Fitz chuckled.

"You are something else."

Olivia smiled and completely changed the topic.

"Where's Josh so we can order this food because I'm hungry."

Fitz shook his head.

"Okay let me get you food."

The day of the surgery.

Fitz made sure he was by Olivia's side throughout the night to make sure she got a good night's rest. He had asked Mellie to stay with Gerry and although she wasn't happy because she surmised that the only reason he wouldn't be staying with Gerry was because he'd be staying with Olivia but she agreed anyway.

Olivia was anxious all morning. She wasn't sure if it was nervous anxious or excited anxious but she was ready. She was relieved that she had a migraine during the night because that meant that the chances of her having one at least for the entirety of the day was very slim.

She was fully dressed in scrubs, a surgery apron and a surgery hair cap.

She paced back and forth in the doctor's lounge repeating a mantra, something she often did before surgery as a pre game warm up but this time she really needed to hear herself say the words.

She paced until she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," she called and then began repeating the mantra again.

Fitz walked in, he saw her pacing by the window, not erratically but in a measured way and he could hear her mumbling but he couldn't tell what she was saying.

"Liv sweetie, what's going on, are you okay."

"Yeah, I'm not crazy or weird, I promise, it's just this Tibetan mantra I like to recite before a surgery."

Fitz chuckled and walked over to her by the window.

"You're going to do great. I have complete faith in you."

He caressed her cheek. She had no idea what it was about Fitz but every time he touched her she felt warm all over.

"Thanks."

Fitz sighed.

"I'm still a little worried about you, you know, after your headache last night, I guess I kinda forgot how bad they could be."

"They're not so bad, not anymore, anyways I'm glad it happened last night, it means I'm all good for today."

"I suppose but I still worry about you. You're the woman I'm in love with, I want you to be happy, safe, healthy and most of all I will make sure you want for nothing but all of those things can't happen if we don't figure out a way to cure you."

"I've tried Fitz, for years and nothing works, the only time they've been seldom was when I was locked in that room- but I don't wanna bring that stuff up, I don't want it to throw me off, I tend to get sucked in once I go down that road."

"You're right, this is the last thing you should be thinking about, I'm sorry I brought it up."

She smiled and wrapped her hands around his waist and leaned into him.

"Don't think on it baby," she chuckled, "you know what you should be thinking about?"

"What?" He said with a smile.

"What you'll be doing for the next plus or minus 13 hours while we're gone."

"I'll spend all plus or minus 13 hours on the verge of a nervous breakdown."

She laughed and checked her watch.

"It's time."

Fitz stepped back.

"Remember Livie, you are the best in the world, you'll do great."

"Thank you, I won't disappoint you, I promise."

"You can never disappoint me okay, now go do god's work."

She nodded with a smile and rolled her eyes as she headed to the door. As she was walking Fitz stopped her.

"Hey Liv?"

She turned around to face him.

"Yes."

He smiled slyly.

"You've got a great ass."

Olivia laughed.

"You're the worst."

She turned and headed out to the sanitation room that was down the hall. Harrison and Stephen and the team of nurses that were assisting in the surgery were there washing their hands and getting ready for the surgery, she joined them and washed her hands as well.

"Are you ready wiz kid?" Harrison teased.

"Yes I am, are you ready?"

"I was born ready girl."

Stephen laughed at Harrison's comment.

Olivia held her hands out so they could air dry, Harrison and Stephen followed. Everyone was doing their own little thing in preparing to go to the adjacent room to begin surgery. Once everyone was fully ready the team gathered around Olivia.

She took a deep breath.

"We're gonna keep a good, steady pace and get this thing done - Stephanie do you have my playlist?"

"Yes, 13 hours of listening to classical music will be fun," Stephanie said sarcastically.

"Hey, it's keeps me focused."

Olivia looked around at everyone.

"It's showtime everyone, lets go."

They filed out of the sanitation room and into the operation room.

When Olivia walked in, Gerry had already been put to sleep by the anesthesiologist.

He was in his belly, his back was bare, all the tools for the surgery was laid out for them on the surgical tables.

Stephanie put the playlist on the portable speaker and Debussy's Clair de lune played.

The first thing she did was make an incision from the base of Gerry's neck down to his coccyx and then used surgical separators to hold the wound open.

She worked diligently and at a steady pace. Everyone switched shifts and took breaks but she wasn't that fortunate. She screwed and drilled into his back, working her way carefully up and down his spine. It took her about 6 hours just to insert the rod down his back because she had to be so careful about causing further damage to his back. She had to remove a part of his nerve root and screw different sections of the vertebra back in place because they had been out of alignment.

Once the structure of his back was stable, she implant his stem cells into his spinal column.

She was going on hour 13 when she began sewing his incision up. After 14 hours and 10 minutes, she was done.

The staff wheeled Gerry out of the operating room to the recovery room.

She went back to the sanitation room to clean herself up. She needed some time to herself because she was feeling unbelievably mentally and physically drained after the surgery. The long surgery times was something she'd gotten used to but after her long break it took a greater toll on her than she anticipated.

She wasn't sure where Harrison and Stephen were, some of the other surgery staffers were in the sanitation room with her, cleaning blood and removing their gear. As soon as she finished washing her hands and removing her bloody gear she headed straight to the doctor's lounge. She didn't see Fitz, she assumed he was with Gerry. The moment she walked in the lounge she saw Harrison, Stephen and two other doctors conversing. They stopped their conversation to speak with her but she completely ignored them and walked over to the couch and plopped down and fell into a deep sleep.


	33. Chapter 33

Olivia felt someone watching her in her sleep and her eyes fluttered open to meet Fitz's sapphire irises head on, he was smiling.

She yawned and sat up. It was bright out and she was still in the doctor's lounge.

"What time is it?"

Fitz checked his watch.

"Let's see," he said with a smile, "it's almost 11am."

Her eyebrows shot up.

"What! Did I sleep here last night? Why didn't you wake me up?"

"I tried, you kept going back to sleep, at one point you told me to leave you alone, which was really rude by the way."

She chuckled.

"Where's Harrison and Stephen?"

"They've been in and out."

"I still can't believe you guys let me sleep this long, I need to go home and shower and eat something, I need to check on Gerry," she stood up and stretched, "I'm usually not this tired after a surgery, I've got to work on that."

Fitz stood as well.

"You did an amazing job, they've been running tests on Gerry all morning, it started working already. I'm not sure how to thank you for this,"

She smiled slyly.

"I'm sure we can figure something out."

She said it with a suggestive undertone that confused Fitz.

"What have you been up to?" She asked.

"Well last night once the nurses summoned me and told me Gerry was in the recovery room, I went to go check on him and then by the time I went to find you, you were knocked out on the couch. I've been back and forth between the recovery room and here since last night."

"You slept right?"

"Yeah I put in a couple hours."

"Good, you need to make sure your sleeping, I don't want you to over exert yourself."

"You just did a 14 hours surgery, you should be last person talking about over exertion."

She smiled and rolled her eyes.

"God, I'm starving."

"I'll let Tom know to get the car ready."

"Okay, I'll check on Gerry in the meantime."

Olivia checked herself in the mirror before heading to the door. She had bed head, which she tried to smooth out but apart from that she looked fine. As soon as she stepped out of the lounge she ran into Harrison.

"Hey Liv, you finally up?" He joked.

"Not funny, why didn't you wake me?"

"We tried but if we really needed you, we would have woken you up."

Olivia sighed.

"How's Gerry?"

"He's good, he's doing as good as we can expect."

"You ran prelusive tests?"

"Yep, looking good."

"Where are they?"

"Stephen's office."

"Perfect."

She turned around and wondered where Fitz was but then she saw him exit the lounge and head her way.

"There you are."

"Yeah sorry, I got a call after you walked out, I had to take it."

"New girlfriend?"

Fitz chuckled, she said it with a seriousness that he found hilarious.

"Shut up."

She smiled.

"Let's go see Gerry."

"Let me warn you, Mellie's in there. I suppose that now that Gerry's surgery is done, she'll turn up the heat on you."

"Please, I'm not afraid of her."

Fitz smiled.

"Okay."

He led the way to Gerry's room. They walked in together to find Mellie by Gerry's bed.

"Good morning," Olivia said cheerfully.

"Good morning," Mellie said with less fervor.

Olivia walked over to Gerry's bed and checked his info chart.

"He should wake up by tomorrow morning, we just need him up for a few hours then we're gonna put him to sleep for a week or so."

"Why does he need to sleep for a week?" Mellie asked.

"It'll help him heal faster, I can't give him a lot of pain medication because that will delay his recovery but sleep is good, he won't feel any pain and his body can focus on repairing itself."

"Oh okay."

"Okay baby let me take you to get something eat."

Olivia was surprised Fitz could refer to her as such in front of Mellie, Mellie seemed more than surprised, she was shocked.

"Yeah, but come with me to Stephen's office let me look at Gerry's test results first."

"Of course, let's head there now."

She smiled.

"Okay babe let's go."

She walked over to him and they walked out together. Mellie's mouth was still hanging open as they walked out and Fitz seemed to be reveling in it.

"You are so petty," she said laughing as they headed to Stephen's.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help it, she didn't even say thank you."

"I didn't do it for her you know."

"Still though, it's the least she could do."

They walked into Stephen's office to find Stephen and Harrison together.

"Results Harry, where are they?"

Harrison handed her a folder and she flipped through lab images and she was pleased, they were exactly as she projected. She walked over to Fitz and showed him the x-Ray and computer image tests taken directly before and after the procedure.

"Look, these are before and these are after, do you see the difference?"

Fitz's mouth dropped open.

"This image shows nerve activity, before it was blank from the lumbosacral region of the back and now-"

"Wow, there's no way, I mean you just finished last night, that's impossible."

Olivia tried not to smile but she couldn't help it, she grinned proudly.

"And he'll only get better."

Fitz closed the folder and looked down at her. He looked at her with so much love and admiration that she had to look away. He was proud of her and she knew it and after everything that she'd been through, that they'd been through, she could see the bright, blinding light at the end of the tunnel again.

"Fitz, quit looking at me like that," she said coyly.

"Looking at you like what?" He said with a goofy, faux ignorance that made her laugh.

"I don't know," she glanced up at him and blushed, "like that."

Olivia and Fitz heard Harrison break out in a laughing fit. Harrison loved teasing Olivia, she was like a little sister to him so he never missed an opportunity to make fun of her.

"Oh shut up Harrison, god - embarrassing."

He held his stomach and laughed, Fitz laughed too. It was funny seeing Harrison antagonize her in that way.

"Shutting up ma'am."

She rolled her eyes.

"I'm gonna go home and take a quick shower and eat something, I'll be back soon so just hold the fort and once I get back you can take the rest of the day."

"You got it boss," Harrison said with a smile.

"Okay, later Steph."

"Later Liv, Mr. President."

"Thank you gentlemen, goodbye," Fitz said with a casual wave of his hand.

Tom was waiting for them outside of the office and as they stepped out he took them down to the car in the private entrance and they headed to Olivia's apartment.

As soon as they got to the apartment Olivia headed to the bathroom. Fitz sat on the couch with his head laid back and waited for her to finish her shower. He had one of his agents run to the cafe to get food so that once she was dressed and ready, it was there for her. He also had called his assistant from the hospital and asked her to drop off a couple suits and clothes for him, she was a few minutes away. He figured he might as well shower here instead of going all the way to the White House.

As he shifted in the couch and got comfortable because he thought she might be in the bathroom for a while then moments later he heard the bathroom door open. Olivia walked out with a tiny white towel wrapped around her body. She seemed to be holding it tightly and walking carefully so it wouldn't fall off.

She was still wet, he could see drops of water trickling down her perfectly toned legs and he briefly salivated at the mouth but then he caught himself. The very last thing he wanted was an erection so he got up and walked over to the window. Her apartment in D.C. wasn't as huge as the one in New York and since it was only a studio apartment, the only room that had a door was the bathroom.

"Are you gonna go shower?" She asked.

"Yeah, Lauren is bringing some things over."

She walked over to the chest of drawers beside her bed and pulled out a pair of underwear and a bra. Fitz turned a snuck a peek and saw her bent over slightly at the chest of drawer and then he turned back to the window.

She could feel him staring and she began to feel conscious so she took her underwear and a pair of yoga leggings and a t shirt and hurried back to the bathroom to get dressed.

While Olivia was getting dressed Lauren finally managed to drop Fitz's clothes off and Greg came by with food from the cafe.

When Olivia emerged from the bathroom, she went straight to Fitz on the couch.

"Hey," he said as she walked over.

"What'd you get?"

"Belgian waffles with strawberries and whipped cream for you."

She sniffed the food as she sat down.

"Oh god it smells so good- wait," she sniffed again, "I smell bacon."

She gave him the side eye.

"I got eggs and bacon for myself."

"How did you know I didn't want eggs and bacon?"

"I just assumed, you were the one who told me how much you loved waffles."

"I do but not more than bacon."

Fitz smiled.

"Here," he took his plate from the paper bag and handed it to her, "have some of mine."

"You shouldn't have- okay- just a tiny bit."

Olivia took her fork and took some of his eggs and bacon, a little more than a tiny bit.

"You know I'd offer you some of mine but I don't want to, I'm hungry and I wanna eat it all," she said as she stuffed a quarter or a waffle in her mouth.

Fitz laughed wholeheartedly.

"Of course not."

Fitz took some of his eggs.

"How are you not fat - sorry, that was stupid, I shouldn't have said that."

He thought that after she almost starved to death, that was an insensitive thing to say.

"Fitz it's okay, you don't have to overthink everything you say to me, it's okay, truly."

He nodded.

"So what's next, with Gerry?" He said trying to change the subject.

Olivia sense the change and happily obliged.

"The most difficult obstacle was the actual surgery, now that that's over, you just have to wait. Like I said earlier, he'll be sleeping for the next week while most of the healing is taking place, once he's up he'll feel pain but that's good because that means his nerves are firing, I'll give him cortisone and that will help until for another week and then most of the pain will be gone. I'll be giving him daily laser therapy sessions and by the end of the last week, you should be able to blow on his legs and he'll feel it, that's when you know he's completely healed."

"And then physical therapy right?"

"Yes therapy, which will last a few more weeks."

"So by the beginning of summer he should be good."

Olivia smiled.

"Ideally, yes."

"Wow, I'm still thinking about those images you showed me earlier, the before and after. You know I tried getting congress to allocate money for the labs last year and the republicans wouldn't do it."

Olivia smiled.

"That's your party right," she joked.

"I can't argue with you there baby."

Olivia took her last piece of waffle and then turned so she was facing him.

"I felt you staring at me earlier. I know we have to get back to that place in our relationship, I want to be at that place but I'm not there yet."

"Liv I'd never ask or want you to do anything you don't want to, surely you must know that?"

"I do, trust me, I do, I just want you to know that it won't be like this forever, I just need a little time."

"Take all the time that you need, I'll wait, there's no rush."

"Fitz, you're a man, I know you think about sex."

"I think about other things too like steak and scotch, doesn't mean I have to eat steak and scotch everyday."

"But you would if you could, wouldn't you?"

Fitz shrugged.

"Sex with you is amazing, of course I'm gonna think about it."

She smiled.

"It was amazing, wasn't it?"

"Yes but with everything that's happened, I just want you to okay, don't worry about me and my blue balls."

Olivia decided to ask to him something that had been nipping at her for months.

"I want to ask you something."

"What?"

"Have you slept with anyone since I left?"

"Wait, what?"

"You can tell me if you did."

"I'm gonna pretend you didn't just ask that,"

"I'm just saying I'd understand if you did."

"Well I didn't."

"Sorry, I was just asking."

"Why?"

"I don't know Fitz I'm sure at one point maybe you thought of moving on but now I see I was wrong so let's just forget I asked."

Fitz stood up abruptly.

"I'm gonna go shower."

"Come on Fitz don't be like that."

"I'm not being like anything, I'm just going to go shower."

He pulled off his jacket as he walked in the bathroom and then shut the door behind him.

While Fitz showered, she took one of his suits out of the garment bag and laid it out on the bed for him and put away all the trash from the food they ate on the coffee table. She wasn't sorry for asking because it had been bothering her and she wanted to know.

As she was tidying up her cellphone rang, she checked caller ID and it was Abby so she answered.

"Abby?"

"Hey Liv."

"Uh Hey."

The was an awkward silence before Abby continued.

"So uhm Harrison called last night and told me about the surgery and I guess I just wanted to congratulate you, I know I was not the most supportive about you doing it in the first place but that was just because I was worried about you but obviously I was wrong and I'm glad I was."

"Thank you, it means a lot to hear you say that."

"So does this mean we're not fighting anymore?"

Olivia smiled.

"I guess it does."

"So now that the surgery is over when are you coming back home?"

Olivia was a little caught off guard by Abby's question, she still hadn't told her she didn't know how she was going to take it.

"About that…"

"What do you mean 'about that'?

Olivia didn't answer.

"Liv?"

"I'm gonna stay here in D.C."

Fitz stepped out of the bathroom and saw Olivia on the phone standing by the window.

"You're staying in D.C.?" Abby asked.

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Abby, you know why."

"No, I don't know why."

"I miss him and I wanna be him, I can't do that all the way from New York now can I?"

"If I didn't call were you going to tell me?"

"Of course I was going to tell you Abby."

"When?"

"When we made up."

Abby was getting louder and louder.

"I can't believe you'd do this."

Olivia scoffed.

"You can't believe I'd do this? We've lived together for many years Abby eventually someone was going leave, I don't understand why you're being so difficult about it, you didn't care when I stayed in D.C. the first time?"

"That's because you lied about it."

"Yeah because I knew you would have acted like this."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, look Abby, I'm my own person and I made his decision because it's what I want."

"After everything that's happe-"

Fitz, who had quietly walked his way over to Olivia took the phone from her ear and ended the call.

"Fitz why-"

"That was getting a little out of hand don't you think?"

She turned around to face him. He was bare chested with a towel wrapped around his waist and she was a little thrown off by it. She stared him up and down a few times before she landed at his eyes and stayed there. Fitz was still the entire time and seemed content to just observe her. She didn't want to send him mixed messages but the urge to kiss him was too strong to fight.

"I'm sorry baby, I just have to kiss you," she said as she grabbed his face.

Fitz was caught off guard by the way she grabbed him and kissed him but he put up no resistance as she eased her tongue in his mouth and tasted him. She slowly ran her index finger up and down his torso, she needed to feel him, even if it was just the soft hairs that covered his chest.

The kiss was hot, too hot, she was feeling things that she wasn't sure she was ready for as yet so she broke the kiss and stepped back.

"You look good, have you been working out?" she asked as she tried to catch her breath.

"I had to do something while you were in New York."

She cleared her throat and took a few steps further away.

"About what I said earlier-"

He smiled.

"Don't worry about it baby."

He walked over to the bed to finished getting dressed.

"How much of me and Abby's conversation did you hear?"

"Enough," he paused, "you don't regret your decision to stay in D.C. do you?"

"Not even a little bit," she said with a smile.

Fitz was about to remove his towel and put his boxers on so she turned her back so she wouldn't see him naked but about 5 seconds after she turned her back the curiosity was too much so she peaked quickly and saw his butt then she turned back around.

"I know you looked," he said with a chuckle as he pulled his pants on.

"You can't prove anything."

"My pants are on, you can turn around you know," said Fitz.

She turned around and walked over to him. By now Fitz had his shirt on, so she grabbed his tie and fixed it around his neck. When she was finished she held his jacket out for him to put on and then she put on her shoes and grabbed her purse and then they headed back to the hospital together.


	34. Chapter 34

**One week later.**

Olivia stood over Gerry's bed. She had estimated that he would be waking up at moment. Fitz and Stephen were standing a few feet behind her and Mellie and Harrison were on the opposite side.

"Any second now," said Olivia.

After a few more seconds Gerry shifted a couple times and then he was up.

"Harrison give me the cortisone."

Gerry groaned in pain once he was fully awake and aware.

"Pain Gerry, from 1-10?" Olivia asked quickly.

"10," he said shakily.

She pinched his toe.

"Did you feel that?"

"Yeah," he groaned.

She smiled.

"Okay, I'm gonna give you something for the pain but I'm going to have to shift your body that will hurt so brace yourself. Stephen, Harrison?"

They immediately got into position and helped turn Gerry to his side. Gerry screamed out in pain and started crying. Fitz and Mellie were both trying to calm him down.

"Gerry, just bare with me," Olivia said.

She injected him with the cortisone syringe at five different spots in his back and then they laid him flat again.

"There you go, all done. Cortisone works very quickly so you should feel relief in 2-5 minutes okay."

She could see he was going attempt to speak.

"No, no speaking unless it's to tell me the pain is less intense. No moving either."

"Just a few more minutes Gerr," said Fitz.

"Yeah just hold on a little longer," Mellie added.

They watched as the minutes went by and Gerry started to visibly relax and breathe a lot better.

"Do you totally and completely hate me for what I did to you?" She said with a smile.

"No because I feel much better, it's like a 3 now."

Fitz smiled.

"I felt like someone was ripping my spine out of my back."

"The worst is over, it will only get better," said Fitz.

"Yeah Gerry, what your father said," Mellie added.

Olivia stepped back, she could see Mellie struggling to insert herself so she thought she give them some time alone.

"I'm going to give you guys a moment but when I come back we'll start your first laser session."

"Okay," Gerry answered. She could see Fitz give her the side eye as if he was screaming for her to stay but she thought she'd leave him alone with Mellie to be tortured for a little while even though she'd have to hear him complain later.

"Bye now," she said glibly.

Olivia left with Stephen and Harrison in tow. They headed straight to Stephen's office and all three sat by Stephen's desk.

"So Abby called me again," Harrison said as he got comfortable in his chair.

Olivia sighed.

"What did she say this time?" Olivia asked.

"Basically she's just very unhappy that you're staying here."

"Am I wrong, feel free to jump in at anytime here guys, what do you think, is she right?"

Stephen jumped in.

"I don't think you're wrong, you have every right to make the choice you did but I guess I can understand why Abby would be mad too."

"Why?" Olivia asked.

"You know Abby's really possessive and honestly she's probably just worried about you, she has been there with you everyday since you came back."

"Yeah and when she was having a hard time I was there for her too that doesn't mean she owes me for that."

"Trust me I get it, I don't know y'all just need to talk," said Harrison.

"I don't wanna talk to her right now, she's just bringing me down. It's depressing as fuck."

Harrison chuckled.

"Well you know what I think, you girls need to sit down and talk and get past this because she thinks you're choosing him over her."

Olivia shrugged.

"Seriously, she said that?"

Harrison froze.

"Oops," he said awkwardly.

Stephen shook his head and stood.

"You guys need to talk it over," he said.

"Whose side are you on?" asked Olivia.

"No one's."

Olivia stood up as well.

"I bet Huck would be on my side."

"Huck isn't here though is he," Stephen teased.

Olivia rolled her eyes.

"That's why Huck's my favorite."

Harrison ran over to her and fluffed her hair messily with his hands. She swatted his hands away and punched him in the shoulder but he didn't seem to take her seriously because he was laughing the entire time.

"Take that," he said as he laughed.

"Stephen, how could you just stand there and not help me."

Stephen chuckled.

"Huck's your favorite right?"

Olivia looked at Stephen and then Harrison.

"Both of y'all are dead to me."

They both laughed at her.

"You're so dramatic," Harrison teased.

Olivia walked over to tiny mirror on wall and fixed her hair.

"Whatever. I'm gonna go back to Gerry's room, Harry can you prep the laser room."

"You got it boss."

"Okay great."

When Olivia got to Gerry's room, he was on the phone, Fitz was standing by the window and Mellie was sitting on the couch.

Fitz turned around the second she walked into the room, and smiled.

"There you are Livie," he said with a smile.

Mellie looked at Olivia then Fitz but said nothing.

"Yes, I've come to take Gerry to laser therapy, well not me, the nurses will be here any second."

Olivia looked over to Gerry who was still deep in his conversation.

"Kenna?" Olivia asked.

"No, Nathan his friend, he spoke with Kenna a little earlier though."

Olivia smiled.

"Oh okay by the way, I've been meaning to ask you how school is gonna work, he has just over a month left?"

"His school offers online courses, he'll start soon."

"Great although I'm sure Gerry doesn't think so."

"Can you two take your conversation elsewhere," Mellie said curtly.

"No but you can go elsewhere," Fitz responded.

Olivia bit her lip and right then Harrison walked in followed by three nurses.

"We're ready for you Liv."

"Perfect."

When Gerry saw the nurses he ended his call.

"Liv is it time?" asked Gerry.

"Yes it's time but don't worry, it won't hurt."

"Okay."

Olivia turned to Fitz.

"I'll see you in a little bit."

He nodded.

"Okay."

The nurses took Gerry to the therapy room and Olivia followed. She spent several hours on Gerry's back; testing, examining and applying many rounds of laser therapy before they brought him back to his hospital room where Fitz was waiting for them both. Mellie had left to get something to eat.

Once Gerry was settled in his room, she let Harrison go for the rest of the evening, Stephen had left a while before.

"Fitz, I'm gonna head home for the evening okay."

She saw him pout a little before he smiled.

"Can I call you?"

"If you didn't I'd be pissed."

Gerry chuckled softly.

"Night Olivia, I'll see you tomorrow and by the way don't hold today's crying against me."

Olivia smiled.

"I promise I will absolutely hold it against you, wonder if Kenna knows."

"Liv!" Gerry screamed.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding."

Fitz laughed.

"She may be kidding Gerry but I just got some great ideas."

"Great," Gerry said exasperatedly.

Olivia shook her head and smiled again.

"Goodnight, I'll see you both tomorrow."

"Night Livie," said Fitz.

She waved to Fitz and Gerry and then she headed out and made her way home.

* * *

After a month of therapy, Gerry was doing exceedingly well. He had regained full function of his back and legs, his only obstacle was being able to walk again without his crutches but with the help of his physical therapist, he was progressing everyday. He was no longer at the hospital but now at the White House where his therapist would visit him everyday and they'd work together in the fitness room.

Olivia was present at his physical therapy sessions even though it was pretty much out of her hands because all of her work was done however she liked to track Gerry's progress so she could have more information available for future patients.

In her personal life things were normal for the most part, she still had lingering effects of her ptsd but she felt better everyday. She moved out of her studio apartment into a two bedroom in a more residential building that was closer to the White House because she needed more space and because it was easier for Fitz to visit. When she flew to New York to ship more of her clothing back to D.C. she had a heart to heart with Abby and they made up after not speaking with each other for three weeks.

Fitz worked as much as he could while managing to be present for both Olivia and Gerry whenever he was needed. He stayed with Olivia at her apartment whenever he could and when he couldn't stay with her at her apartment for any reason, they'd chat on the phone for hours until she fell asleep. Fitz had been urging her to stay at the White House but it was something that she still wasn't comfortable because Mellie was still there. She was adamant about staying until Gerry was completely healed and walking again then she would take Gerry back to California to stay with her for the summer as per their custody agreement.

With the intrusion of Mellie aside things with Fitz and Olivia were nothing short of fantastical, the only thing missing was sex and it had been weighing heavier and heavier on both their minds, Olivia more so than Fitz because she still felt very conscious about it but she'd been trying to work past her anxiety and fear with her therapist. She'd call her almost everyday for their phone appointment to try to figure out how to work past it but after a month nothing changed.

It's was 7 when Olivia woke up in the morning but she laid in bed till 8, she was trying to kill as much time as she could before she went to brush her teeth and shower. By the time she got out the shower, she heard her cell phone ring and ran over to answer it.

"Good morning baby," she cooed through the phone.

Whenever he didn't sleepover, he called her around the same time every morning.

"Morning Livie, are you coming by at the same time today?"

"Yep, same time, I just showered, I'm getting dressed now - wait you're in the oval right?"

"Yeah, just finished my briefing , I have to fly to Virginia to meet with some coal miners today but I should be back by 2."

"Aww that sucks, what time are you leaving?"

"In an hour."

"So I won't see you?"

"No but I'd love it if you'd hang around and wait for me till I get back."

She smiled

"I'll think about it by the way who's responsible for this? It is Cyrus because if it I I will have words."

Fitz chuckled.

"It is Cyrus and I'll let him you know you have it out for him okay."

"Alright, I'll will chat with you when you get back."

"Alright bye."

She hung up and went to her closet to pick an outfit. It was going to be warm out so she opted for a pair of Theory camel skinny pants and a cream ruffled top from Miu Miu. She curled her hair that fell mid back and did her makeup soft and pretty.

Before she finished getting ready she called her secret service agent and gave him a heads up to get the car ready then she went to the kitchen and grabbed a protein bar and some fruit for breakfast. Once she was done with breakfast, she went back to her closet to finished getting dressed. It took her awhile to decide what shoes and bag she wanted to pair with her outfit but eventually she decided to go with her nude Saint Laurent heels and her black Givenchy Antigona bag.

When she got to the White House it was a little after 11am, she would usually get there earlier and hang out with Fitz until Gerry's therapist came but there was no need for that today so she arrived right on time for his session in the fitness room. When she walked in, Gerry was lying in the floor doing stretches as instructed by his therapist.

"Morning Gerry."

He stopped mid pose.

"Morning Liv, how's it going?"

"Good, what about you, how are the legs?"

"Good, just now John said I should be walking any day now."

Olivia turned to John, Gerry's physical therapist.

"It looks like he's ahead of schedule John."

"Yes Dr. Pope, he seems to be an overachiever."

"Somewhat like his father in that regard," said Olivia.

Gerry smiled.

"So Liv, I wanted to invite you to dinner with me and dad tonight."

"Dinner? Really? Your dad didn't say anything to me about a dinner," she said with a smile.

"I told him not to tell you because I was going to tell you."

"Okay, dinner, yeah...sure, I'd like that," she paused, "will your mom be there?"

"No, she doesn't know although the I'm sure she won't like the fact that I didn't invite her but it's no secret that she doesn't like you so what's the point of inviting her."

Olivia laughed at his frankness.

"You're a standup guy Gerry, I like that about you."

Gerry smiled at her compliment.

"Thanks I think I got it from my dad, maybe my grandfather... who knows."

After a few more stretches Gerry was done with his stretching exercise and then John helped him up to the parallel bars where began his walking exercise as he had been doing for the past week. Everyday he was getting better and stronger and by Olivia's calculations he'd be walking on his own in days.

Olivia stayed and chatted with Gerry until his session was over. She wondered where Mellie was but she didn't ask, instead they headed to the rose garden and ate lunch. Before they knew it, it was after three in the afternoon and they saw Fitz strolling across the rose garden towards them with a huge smile on his face.

"Hey dad," said Gerry.

"Hello my two favorite people in the world," he said as he approached.

"You're late," Olivia said with a smile.

"Sorry, I got bamboozled in answering question for 45 minutes, you can blame Cyrus for that."

"I will."

"How was therapy today Gerry?"

"Good, I made a lot progress," Gerry answered.

"Why didn't you tell me about dinner?"

Fitz scratched the bridge of his nose.

"Have I told you how great you look, I like your shirt, it brings out the doe in your eyes."

Olivia laughed.

"Changing the subject, typical politician, isn't that right Gerry?"

"Sure is," Gerry agreed.

"You guys are teaming up on me, how is this happening right now."

Gerry looked at Olivia and held his hand out for a high five, Olivia joined in and high fived him back.

"We'll never tell," Olivia said mischievously.

"But we're on for dinner though right?"

"Of course, 7pm sharp," Gerry answered.

"Okay so what am I gonna do till then? I guess I could hang out at home until later."

"No, hang with me in the oval," Fitz insisted.

"People are gonna be in and out of your office for the rest of the evening."

"I'll cancel my meetings or move them to the Roosevelt room or something."

They heard Gerry's phone chime and he opened it to read the text he received.

"That's my my que guys, Kenna and Jeremy are coming to hang out, I gotta go."

Gerry grabbed his crutches and proceeded to help himself up.

"Let me help you up Gerr," offered Fitz.

"No dad, I've got this, I'm good."

Fitz stepped back and allowed Gerry to get up by himself. Though he couldn't walk by himself, he could move around if he was supported by his crutches.

"Alright, I'll meet you guys in the dining room later."

"Later," Olivia and Fitz said in unison.

* * *

Later in the evening, Olivia and Fitz headed to the dining room at 7pm sharp to meet Gerry. When they entered the dining room, Gerry wasn't there as yet so they decided to sit and wait for him. Fitz pulled out Olivia's chair in a gentlemanly fashion and waited for her to sit.

"My lady," he said in a faux English accent.

She smiled and curtsied before she took her seat.

Fitz sat directly beside her and left the opposite seat for Gerry. The food was all laid out on the table waiting to be devoured and he was starving, so was Olivia so he texted Gerry to find out how much longer he would be.

"Fitz this looks great, I can't wait to eat it."

"Yeah I just texted Gerry, I wonder if he was his aide is with him, I still don't like him going about by himself."

"He needs to do it by himself, he's reveling in his independence right now he won't want help."

"I just can't help it sometimes."

They both heard the dining room door open and to their surprise Gerry walked in with Mellie.

It was awkward and neither Fitz or Olivia said a word, they were waiting for an explanation.

"I just ran into Gerry in the hall and he told me he was heading to dinner with you two so I decided to tag along, if that's okay with you two?"

Olivia cleared her throat.

"Uhm sure, of course, there's more than enough food," Olivia said.

"Sorry," Gerry mouthed to Olivia.

Mellie sat directly beside Fitz and exhaled.

"This looks so good," she said cheerfully.

Fitz sighed and stood up to help Gerry into his seat, he was afraid he'd fall trying to sit. He knew exactly why Mellie came, she wanted to antagonize them so he decided to beat her to the punch.

Once Gerry was seated he went back to his seat and pulled out an seafoam green paper gift bag from under the table and handed it to Olivia.

"I knew you wouldn't let me pay you for everything you did for Gerry so we decided to give you something else."

She smiled and took the bag.

"You shouldn't have, I told you guys I didn't want anything."

"Open it Liv, whichever one you like more is the one that I picked," said Gerry.

She laughed and opened her bag, it was from Tiffany's. There was three different neatly wrapped boxes. She took her time opening the first box, it was a beautiful black diamond necklace, the kind that thieves would coordinate a heist to steal. It looked like it belonged in a museum.

"I can't take this."

"Well it's custom, it's not like we can return it," said Fitz.

"Do you like it?" Gerry asked.

Olivia was a little speechless.

"I love it but I think you guys are trying to get me robbed because that's exactly what's going to happen if I wear this, it's beautiful."

Gerry and Fitz laughed but it was short lived because immediately Mellie stood up and slammed her hands in the table in an extravagant flash of anger.

"I thought I could stand to be in here with you and your mistress but it turns out I can't."

Mellie huffed and stormed off, Fitz was going to go after her but Olivia stopped him.

"I'll talk to her."

She didn't give Fitz a chance to respond, she got up and rushed out behind Mellie. She saw Mellie turn and head to the rose garden and she followed her.

"Mellie?" She called loudly.

Mellie whipped her head around and waited as Olivia approached her.

"Oh look, if it isn't the suicidal Barbie that my that husband just can't seem to get tired of."

Olivia smiled and that annoyed Mellie beyond measure.

"You think stealing my husband is funny?" Mellie asked angrily.

"Stealing requires effort Mellie and I can't assure you that I gave no effort, he willfully, no gleefully, found his way to me and it's time you started getting familiar."

Mellie scoffed.

"You are a home wrecker, you broke up my marriage, I loved my husband and you took him from me and you think it's some big joke, I wonder what America will think about you when they find out what kind of person you really are, spreading your legs for a married man makes you a whore."

"And plotting with your lover to kill the president makes you a criminal and a whore." Olivia stepped a little closer, "don't tell my secret and I won't tell yours."

Olivia kissed her cheek and walked back to the corridor.

"What's going on?" Fitz said, as he met her half way to the dining room.

"Oh nothing, Mellie and I were just agreeing that we should be more cordial in the future, for everyone's sake."

"So what really happened?" Fitz asked.

"I also might have let it slip that I knew about her boyfriend Nolan but that's it."

Fitz chuckled.

"You are something else, come on let's go and finish dinner, Gerry's waiting."

"Okay babe, let's go."


	35. Chapter 35

Fitz knocked on Olivia's door and within seconds he heard the patter of her tiny feet approaching the door. He had a key but he hardly used it because he loved seeing her open the door with a huge smile on her face.

"It's almost 12, I really didn't think you were gonna come, you said you weren't."

He smiled and stepped in.

"I didn't think I was either but I also didn't want to sleep alone tonight so here I am."

She puckered her lips for a kiss and Fitz happily obliged, leaning down to give her a soft kiss on the lips. He kicked his shoes off and Olivia helped him take his suit jacket off.

"I'm glad you came, I'm binge watching Martin."

"Martin, is that a show, I've never heard of it before."

She giggled.

"I think you'll love it, it's hilarious. Why don't you change into something more comfortable and I'll fix you something to eat in the meantime."

"Thank you baby."

Fitz headed to the bathroom and took a quick shower before changing into his pajamas and meeting Olivia in the kitchen. She was standing by the kitchen counter with her back turned to him. He stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and kiss the crook of her neck. She made a low humming sound, almost a moan but not quite, regardless it was one of pleasure.

Fitz looked down at the counter, he realized she finished making the sandwich and was eating some of it and apparently she made the humming sound because she was enjoying the sandwich so much.

"Hey?"

She turned around with a mouth full of the turkey sandwich she made for him. She smiled and finished chewing and then swallowed.

"What? All the kings have taste testers."

"Yeah but not from the people who make the food," he said with a chuckle.

She picked up his sandwich and fed it to him. He took a huge bite and swallowed.

"Oh shit, it's really good."

She chuckled and grabbed his plate.

"Come on let's go,"

She pulled him over to the couch and once he sat she handed him his plate then she sat beside him and threw her legs over his lap then she turned up the volume on the tv.

Fitz took a bite of his sandwich and pulled her closer to him and settled into the couch.

"So what's the premise of the show?" He asked to get a little insight.

"It's a sitcom, Martin and Gina are together, their friends are Tommy, Pam and Cole and basically it's just them navigating everyday scenarios oh and they have a neighbor named sheneneh, it's absolutely hilarious."

Fitz smiled and turned his attention back to the tv.

They only watched a couple episodes because it was getting to the wee hours of the morning and Olivia was mindful that he had a full day of work in the morning.

Olivia practically had to drag Fitz out of the couch to get him to go to bed, he insisted on watching one more episode and when she obliged and let him, he insisted on another so turned the tv off and dragged him to the bedroom. They were both tired so they fell asleep effortlessly in their comfortable spooning position.

Around 5 in the morning Fitz felt shuffling on the bed and woke up. Olivia was having a nightmare and was tossing and turning.

" _Please don't hurt me,"_ she mumbled barely loud enough for Fitz to hear.

He tried tapping her to wake her up but she seemed to still be very deep in her sleep.

" _Please, I can't breathe."_

She started crying in her sleep and Fitz shook her harder to wake her up.

"Come on Liv, wake up."

He shook her again and he didn't stop until she jump up out of her sleep. She was hyperventilating and terrified and immediately Fitz tried to calm her down.

"Liv, I'm here, it was just a nightmare."

She stared around blankly for a moment and then she hopped off the bed clumsily.

"Liv?"

She didn't answer, she just started crying hysterically. Fitz instinctively ran to her side and tried to calm her down but should wouldn't let him touch her.

"Where were you?"

Fitz shook his head, slightly confused.

"Liv what do you-"

"Where were you Fitz?" She said as she continued to sob, "I needed you."

"Liv I'm sorry."

He reached out and tried to console her.

"Don't touch me."

She wiped her eyes and tried to walk quickly out of the room.

"Livie please talk to me," Fitz said as he tried to stop her.

He'd seen her have nightmares before but this wasn't a nightmare, it was a full terror episode.

As Olivia rushed out of the room and Fitz followed, he could see that she was heading straight to the bathroom and after what happened in New York, he didn't trust her to be by herself in the bathroom, not in her condition.

"No, you are not going in there by yourself."

Fitz stepped in front of her, blocking the bathroom door. Olivia was still a little despondent and crying and she seemed indifferent to anything Fitz had to say.

She didn't respond she just tried to push past him aggressively and when he wouldn't budge she started hitting him chest out of frustration. Fitz grabbed her hands and held them in place in an attempt to calm her down but she only got more agitated.

"Let me go," she began screaming.

"You remember what happened the last time you went into the bathroom like this. I'm not letting you go in there."

"Let me go please Fitz," she was still trying the wry herself free of him.

"Only if you promise to calm down and talk to me."

"Fitz let me go now."

"No," he said firmly.

She was beginning to panic because she was feeling helpless and she wasn't strong enough to fight him so she did the only thing she could think of to get free, she hit him squarely in his balls with her knee.

Fitz instantly fell to the floor and let out a loud wail. Olivia rushed past him and locked herself in the bathroom.

Tom and the other agents came rushing in when they heard Fitz howl out in pain, they had been rather quiet up until that point.

"Mr. President," Tom yelled as he ran over.

"Tom get her out of there!"

Fitz laid in the floor, holding his groin, writhing in pain.

"Sir, what happened?" asked Tom.

"I'm fine, just open that door and get her out!"

Tom instructed three of the agents to open the door and he immediately went over to the bathroom and proceeded to bang loudly on the door.

"Ms. Pope we need you to exit the bathroom immediately," they ordered sternly.

They continued banging on door. Fitz was trying to figure out how to get her out but he couldn't think straight because he was in so much pain.

"Leave me alone," she screamed.

Fitz signaled for the agents to step back.

"Olivia please open the door," he begged.

She didn't respond.

"Tom open that door," Fitz commanded.

"Yes sir."

"Charles, get a chef knife from the kitchen," Tom ordered.

Charles quickly ran to the kitchen and grabbed a knife and brought it back to Tom. Tom took the knife and jammed it between the latch bolt and the strike plate, after a few attempts he was able to force the door open. Fitz stood up slowly and limped into the bathroom.

She was laying in the dry bathtub with her eyes closed but he knew she wasn't sleeping.

"Olivia, what happened to you?"

She didn't respond, she just laid still in the tub with her eyes closed, he knew she was awake because he could see her eyes moving.

He waited and waited and still there was no response. After a while Tom came and offered him ice which he took gratefully.

It didn't take Olivia very long to fall asleep in the tub. He waited for a little while before he picked her up and brought her back to her bed and covered her with her blanket.

It was heartbreaking to hear everything she said, he knew now that she didn't fully forgive him for everything that happened when she was taken and while he hoped they would be able to talk about it sooner, it would have to wait until the evening because he had a busy day including a meeting with the British prime minister and there was no way he could get out of it.

He sat on the ground icing his groin, consumed by his thoughts until the dawn light began to peer through the windows. Realizing it was soon time to leave he went to shower and dress. He hoped Olivia would wake up before he left but she didn't so he instructed Tom to keep a guard close by just so he could have updates in her throughout the day to keep his mind at ease.

When Olivia woke up later in the morning, everything that took place during the early morning came rushing back to her. Most of the things that she said, she didn't mean, she was just freaked out by her nightmare. She knew Fitz must've felt terrible and she wanted to talk to him but she was also embarrassed and worried he might be angry after what she did to him.

She slowly crawled out of bed and headed to the bathroom but she was surprised to find an agent standing right outside her door.

"Uhm what's going on?"

"Good morning Ms. Pope."

"Why are you in my apartment?"

"The president requested that I stay inside the apartment."

"Why?"

"To make sure you were safe."

"I'm fine, you don't have to stay in here."

"I have to ma'am, president's order."

Olivia stared at him awkwardly.

"I mean okay, well you don't have to stand there, you can sit."

He seemed relieved.

"Thank you ma'am."

He headed to the living room and sat in the couch quietly.

She went to the bathroom and brushed her teeth and freshened up then went back to her bedroom and dialed her therapist. She woke up so late that she missed their usual appointment time of 9am but she decided to give it a try.

"Hello Olivia, you are late," said Savannah.

"I know, I overslept, can you talk for a little bit?"

"Yes, I'm free at the moment."

"I had an episode last night, Fitz was hear, it wasn't good, after I freaked out on him pretty bad, I hit him."

"You hit him?"

"Yeah in his- private, I don't know why I did that, I wasn't thinking straight, I panicked."

"Did he do something specially to cause you to panic?"

"Well, I was trying trying to get to the bathroom but I guess he got scared maybe he thought that I might hurt myself if I went in there alone anyways he blocked the door so I couldn't get in the bathroom and I started hitting him in the chest and he held my hands and I tried to get free but I couldn't because obviously he's way stronger than I am, he wasn't holding me tightly or hurting me he was just restraining me but I still hit him in the private."

"What was his reaction?"

"I don't know, I saw him fall to the floor and then I shut myself in the bathroom. After a few minutes, his guards managed to get in, he tried talking to me but I didn't answer."

"Was he angry?"

"No, if he was angry he hid it very well because I couldn't tell."

"What triggered all of this, was it a flashback or nightmare, what was it?"

"Nightmare, a bad one, I thought I was okay, they'd been seldom since I moved here so I thought I was healing but I guess not."

"Well, you are healing but there are long term effects, this is one of them, you maybe not have regular nightmares but they won't completely go away and they will almost always be about your time in captivity unless another major traumatic event happens in your life."

"I just regret that it happened, I said some things I didn't mean and I'm not sure how I'm gonna walk them back."

"So you haven't apologized yet?"

"I'm embarrassed and I also just woke up, I want to call him, I just don't know what to say."

"You can let him know how extremely sorry you are for your behavior, stress to him that you are still working through your issues and ask for his forgiveness."

"You make it sound so easy, should I call him now?"

"It's better for you to say this in person."

"I'll call to see if he's coming by tonight, hopefully he is and I'll talk to him then."

"Let him know you need to speak with him in person so he'll know what you want to talk about."

"Thank you Savannah, you're truly a lifesaver."

She heard Savannah chuckled through the phone.

"No problem Olivia, I'll speak with you tomorrow."

Olivia hung up and immediately dialed Fitz and to her dismay, he didn't pick up. She figured he was either too busy to answer or he was too upset but either way she was gonna keep trying.

She made herself breakfast and then waited a little while before she called him again. She listened anxiously as his phone rang and then he picked up.

"Liv are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine, I know you're busy but I just needed to ask if you were coming by tonight, I wanted to talk."

"Yeah, It'll be late but I'll be there."

He didn't sound angry and she was grateful for that. Savannah told her to apologize in person but she couldn't wait that long.

"Fitz, I'm sorry that I hit you last night, I didn't mean it, I don't know what came over me but I'm really, really sorry and I'm sorry I couldn't visit Gerry during therapy, I overslept."

"It's okay baby, don't worry about it, I'm fine, Gerry's fine."

"Okay," she said softly.

"I have to run, the prime minister is waiting for me."

"Okay, go, I don't wanna hold you up, I'll see you later."

"Okay."

Olivia hung up. She couldn't decide if she felt better for worse because Fitz wasn't angry with her but she put it to the side to deal with later once she was face to face with Fitz.

She didn't want to spend the day in the house with an agent so she decided to go out and find something to do, of course he was going to follow her around but at least he would keep his distance and she could pretend she didn't know him. She threw on a pair of jeans and a t shirt and sandals, grabbed her car keys and headed out.

She stopped for lunch at a cafe down the block then she drove to Barney's to look around and kill time but she ended up spending the entire afternoon in the men's department shopping for Fitz.

She got back to her apartment after 7pm. The guard that had been watching her all day switched with another guard who stayed at his usual post outside.

She wasn't sure if Fitz would be hungry when he came over, he usually was and she wanted to be on the safe side so she ordered Italian takeout from the restaurant down the street.

She lounged around for a little while, trying to kill time until she decided to take a shower. She stripped down and turned on the faucet and stood underneath the warm water and let it cascade down her body. She stayed in the shower a lot longer than she usually did because she busy chastising herself for her episode last night.

By the time she got out of the shower and checked her phone, she realized she'd been in there for over an hour. She quickly grabbed her towel and headed out the bathroom. When she got to her bedroom and opened the door, Fitz was laying on the bed by the lamp reading a stack of papers.

She was surprised to see him because even though he didn't give her a specific time, she didn't expect him until midnight because that usually the time he came over when he worked late. He was dressed casually so she knew he showered from the White House.

"Fitz, hey, I didn't think you'd be here so early."

"Me either but my day ended earlier than I anticipated."

It was awkward, he was fully dressed, she wasn't, except for the small white towel that she held around her body that barely did it's job of covering her and in that moment she chastised herself for not replacing her useless half towels with bigger towels.

She took a deep breath and walked over to his side of the bed and stood by the night table. Realizing that she wanted to talk, he put his papers to the side and gave her his undivided attention.

"I am so sorry about last night, I woke up and I freaked out and I said things that I didn't mean at all and I hope you didn't believe them because their weren't true."

"Are you sure that's not how you really feel, if it is then we can talk about it."

She reached out and caressed his arm.

"I'm sure, when I woke up I was freaked out but I promise that's not how I feel and I'm so sorry for hitting you, that was wrong, how does it feel, is it still hurting?"

"No it's okay, don't worry about it, it isn't the first time my balls have been abused," he said with small chuckle.

She smiled.

"So you forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive."

She still had one hand holding her towel around her body but she used the other hand to caress Fitz cheek softly and then she leaned down and kissed him softly on the lips.

"I'm sorry, I love you," she said again softly.

Fitz smiled.

"I love you too."

She blushed.

"I'm gonna go get dressed, I'll be right back."

"Okay."

She walked into to her closet and closed the door. She shifted around her huge walk in space, looking through her sleepwear drawer. She found some black silk shorts and a matching cami and decided to go with that even though it was sexier than anything she'd worn since she came back from Iran. She was feeling both brave and timid and she wanted to see where that would take her. If she was being honest with herself, she wanted to make up with Fitz after last night and maybe her guilt was a good push for her to start getting intimate. It's not like she didn't want to have sex, her libido had been sky high she just need the courage to go forward with her feelings.

She oiled her body and sprayed just a pinch of perfume and fluffed her hair and then turned to look at her image in the mirror.

"Go and make love to your man," she said to herself, in a effort to give herself a pep talk.

She didn't put any underwear on, just her shorts and cami and then she walked out of her closet to join Fitz in the bed.

When she stepped out of her closet, Fitz looked up with his mouth slightly open then he shut it but he still stared.

She climbed into the bed and laid next to him, facing him.

"Did you eat, are you hungry? I ordered food."

"I'm not hungry for food right now."

She was no hoping he'd make the first move.

Fitz cleared his throat.

"I have to use the bathroom."

"Okay."

He got up and walked out. She waited and listened, she didn't hear him turn on the faucet or flush the toilet so she knew he wasn't using the bathroom.

She laid on the bed waiting for him to come back, she could feel herself growing wetter by the minute in anticipation of what the night could turn into.

Within a few minutes Fitz was back. He stopped and leaned against the door post.

"Fitz, are you coming to bed."

He walked back to the bed and laid on his back beside her and began reading his papers again.

Olivia laid staring at him for a few almost a minute before she noticed the tent, formed from the blanket over his erect penis.

"SHIT," Fitz said when he felt it. He through the paper to the side and got up.

"No Fitz wait."

"Just gimme one sec-"

"No, come here."

He stopped and turned around. He looked down at the erection and then looked up at her and then he walked back to her by the bed and stood directly over her. She'd told him she wasn't ready so he was confused as to where she was going.

"Kiss me."

He hesitated at first, she could see that he was mulling something over in his mind. She wasn't sure what he was thinking but somehow it fell away and he leaned down to kiss her and she opened her mouth and welcomed his tongue like a desert nomad welcomed water.

Fitz gave her a series of kisses, each one deeper and more erotic than the last and he continued until Olivia was breathlessly whimpering underneath him and his erection was so hard that painful and he was praying she didn't stop because he need release...badly.

"Take it off baby," she said breathlessly.

Fitz obeyed, leaning up to pull off his shirt and then pulled down her delicate silk shorts and then he spread her legs open so he could see her.

He usually loved teasing her but this time he didn't have the patience or discipline, after a dry spell for months, all he wanted was to be inside her.

He knelt in between her legs and then leaned over on top of her. He could hear her breathing heavily in anticipation, he freed himself from his underpants and took a deep breath.

When he entered her, slowly and sensually, she nearly screamed. Fitz closed his eyes and stood still and basked in the feeling of being inside her.

When he opened his eyes and looked down at her, her eyes were drowning in tears.

He leaned down and kissed her and as he kissed her, he slowly began thrusting, fully removing himself from her before entering her again and again. She wrapped her hands around his neck and back and held him tightly as he kissed her and thrusted into her. Her moans were stifled by his kisses but once he broke the kiss, they were loud and breathy and erratic and filled the room.

"I love you, I love you, I love you," she chanted over and over again.

He held her tighter, almost squeezing her and then he kissed her.

"I fucking love you too."

He could feel her swelling up around him and he knew she was close but he didn't go faster, he went deeper, punctuating every thrust with passion and purpose.

It didn't take long for him to send her over the edge. She could feel her body kicking into a frenzy and she arched her back and spread her legs further apart and waited for her body to fully give in to him.

"Fitz-" she cried.

"I know baby, I know, hold on, wait for me."

"I can't- I can't hold it," she said breathlessly.

Before Fitz could say another word, Olivia was writhing underneath him, holding onto him tightly with her face buried in the crook of his neck, screaming. Seconds after Olivia orgasm took her, his body was thrown into a frenzy as well.

"Fuck!" he said pointedly in her ear as he felt his seed spilling into her.

He collapsed on top of her and they both panted breathlessly.

They laid quietly for a while, Olivia ran her fingers through his hair absently and after a while their breaths were insync.

She felt Fitz shift and pull out and sit up.

"There are no words, none, for how badly I need that," he said, with relief.

Once he was out of her, she felt all his seed spilling out of her and unto the bed.

"Oh my god Fitz, how much cum did you leave inside of me."

He smiled mischievously.

"It's been a while okay."

She chuckled and rolled her eyes.

"You're such a little troublemaker," she said breathlessly.

She was still winded, her orgasm took a lot out of her.

"Oh please, you love it when I cum inside you."

"You're right, I do love it when you cum inside me."

He laid on the bed and then pulled her close to him.

"There's plenty more where that came from."

"I'm counting on it," she said seductively.

Fitz looked down at her and smiled.

"I got you some stuff today," she began.

"What stuff?"

"I stopped by the Barney's men department and I ended up getting you a few little things as recompense for kicking you in your beans. You should've seen me struggling to carry the bags back to the apartment, it was pathetic, Stewart had to help me."

Fitz laughed, he knew she went to Barney's because the agent told him but he decided to feign ignorance.

"If you couldn't carry the bags that's more than a few little things."

"I got you this really cute Canada Goose parka for the winter, some shirts and pocket squares and a really great pair of boots that I can really see you rocking this fall."

Fitz laughed.

"If you're going to buy me stuff and then make me orgasm like that because you kicked me in my silver bullets then you can kick me in them every other day. I'm sure at some point they'll stop working but it'll be worth it."

Olivia burst out in laughter.

"Silver bullets like Bob Seger and the Silver bullet band?"

"Yeah how did you know, wait of course you knew that, you're amazing."

"I won't object to your observations Fitz, they are very apt."

"Amazing and smart and gorgeous…"

He leaned over and kissed her on the lips then he slowly worked his way down her neck and chest then kissed over the silk fabric of her cami down torso and then he kissed his way back up.

Olivia loved it, she closed her eyes and relished in his kisses.

"You have to kiss me like this everyday okay."

Fitz smiled.

"Deal."

She thought she had him in a good enough place where he'd be open with her so she decided to ask him something that had been nagging her.

"Fitz do you worry that I might hurt myself again?"

He cleared his throat and shifted his body.

"Honestly I believed when you said it would never happen again but after last night I'm not so sure anymore."

"Fitz I told that won't happen again, you have to believe that."

"I know, I want too but I'd be lying if I said a part of me didn't think you were capable of doing it again."

She was silent for a while.

"Maybe we can talk to Savannah together."

"You don't mind us seeing someone together?"

"No, I think it'll be good."

He smiled.

"I'm in."

She reached up and kissed him on the cheek.

"I'll talk to Savannah and see when we can set something up."

"Okay."

"Well I'm exhausted-"

"I did that," Fitz said proudly.

She chuckled.

"I'm going to bed."

"You can only sleep if you take your top off so I can look at your boobs until I fall asleep."

"Is that an order?"

"Yes."

She smiled and pulled her cami off and threw it to the floor.

"Oh lord, welcome back Harold and Kumar, it's been too long."

Olivia laughed.

"You named my breasts?"

"Of course."

She shook her head and laughed.

"Goodnight babe, I love you."

"Gimme kiss," he ordered as he puckered his lips.

She leaned over and kiss him.

"I love you too, goodnight."

Fitz paused.

"Wait. Can I kiss Harold and kumar goodnight too."

"Fitz."

"They deserve love and attention too Olivia."

"Fine, one kiss each," she as she tried to keep a straight face and not break out into laughter.

Fitz leaned over and instead a kissing her breast, he took one of her nipples in his mouth and sucked it.

"OOOOH god," she said as she grabbed unto his shoulder, she was completely taken by surprise.

"You like that?" he teased.

"Yes!" she moaned.

Fitz took her nipple and sucked it again.

She shoved his hand down between her legs, demanding to be fingered. Fitz took her silent cue and licked his two fingers before he slid them in slowly and began fingering her as he sucked on her tit until he took his time removing his fingers and entered her with his penis and moved up from her breast to her lips and began kissing her.

He could begin to feel her tightening around him, a sign of her impending orgasm. She grabbed unto his ass as he moved in and out of her.

Moments later, she wrapped her arms around his neck, holding tightly. "Baby, I'm cuming," she whispered breathlessly.

Fitz thrusted forward and sent them both into a hot orgasm that left Olivia moaning breathlessly for a full minute after she came. Fitz on the other hand, was panting on top of her.

He was going to pull out when Olivia stopped him.

"No, I missed you, don't move."

He smiled, "okay but I weigh 200 pounds," he flipped her so he was on top of him, he was still inside her, "I'll suffocate you if I just lay on you," he said with a chuckle.

Olivia smiled and laid her head against his chest. He stroked her hair as they both laid quietly until they drifted off to sleep.


	36. Chapter 36

"Fitz wake up…." Olivia said in a sing song voice.

She climbed on top of him and straddled him. She had woken up minutes earlier and she was already bored, she thought since it was a Saturday she could let him sleep in for a little while but her resolve only lasted for a couple of minutes.

"Fitz wake up."

She leaned down and kissed him.

"Baby wake up."

She traced her index finger down his torso.

"Fitz…" she whispered in his ear.

He rubbed his eyes and then he woke up.

"Good morning," she said softly.

He smiled and reached his hand around the small of her back and tipped her so fell over on top of him and once she was on top of him he wrapped his arm around her and kissed her, as he had his tongue in her mouth he reached under the covers and slapped her ass.

"Fitz!" she squealed.

"Good morning to you too," he said with a smile, "how long have you been up?"

"Just a few minutes."

She leaned down and kissed him again.

"Are you going to the White House?"

"Yeah, I have a luncheon at 1," he checked his watch on the night table, "which is only three hours away."

"It's a Saturday Fitz."

"I know but unfortunately it's been scheduled for weeks I can't just not show up."

"You can just not show up and stay here with me and make love to me all morning and afternoon and night…" she trailed off in kisses then handed him his phone.

"Call Cyrus and tell him you feel terribly sick and you can't make it and then call Gerry and tell him I've stolen you for the day."

Fitz chuckled, he wasn't in a position to put up a fight.

"I can't believe you're making me do this."

"Come on, do it," she teased.

He dialed Cyrus and put the phone on speaker, he picked up after the first ring.

"Fitz what's going on?"

"Cyrus I think I have a stomach virus, you'll have to cancel the luncheon."

"What, you can't be serious, all the biggest conservative foundation CEOs are gonna be there, you cannot cancel it."

"I'm sick."

"That's never stopped you from working before, you've worked through worse."

Olivia leaned over and buried her head in the crook of his neck, nipping and kissing him, tantalizingly.

"Shit," Fitz moaned.

"Fitz?" Cyrus asked.

He almost forgot Cyrus was still on the phone.

"Cy, I'm uhm - throwing up I have to go."

"Fitz don't do this to me, you know what I'm leaving my house in 20 minutes, I'm coming to the residence."

"Okay."

Fitz hung up and threw his phone on the bed.

Olivia quickly popped her head up.

"Fitz if he goes to the residence he's going to know you're not there."

Fitz shrugged.

"Oops. I blame you, I was under your spell."

She smiled.

"But you know what I think."

He sat up and held her cheeks and kissed her.

"What?' she said in between kisses.

"That's an entirely different problem for an entirely different time."

He continued kissing her.

"What about Gerry?"

"He's going over his friend's house for the day, I don't think he cares," Fitz said breathlessly.

He moved the sheets and laid her on her back and kneeled in between her legs then spread them open and propped her hips up on his legs.

He stroked himself before entering her slowly, she was warm and wet..

"Oh god yes," she moaned as she grabbed a handful of the sheets.

Fitz leaned over and gave her sloppy wet kiss, he just couldn't help himself, everything about her turned him on; her moans, her screams, the way she cried out for him every time she climaxed, it only made him more obsessed and made his fire burn hotter. Every moment he spent not kissing her out touching her was a moment wasted, especially after he almost lost her.

He pulled her hands from the sheets and interlocked their fingers and pinned her hands above her head. He rested his forehead against hers and gazed into her eyes as continued pumping in and out her. Olivia was writhing in pleasure underneath him and as he felt her getting close he kissed her once again but this time he never parted their lips, even as she orgasmed he kept his lips on hers, as she breathed and moaned into his mouth. Beads of sweat ran down their bodies and even though Olivia's thighs ached from her orgasm she begged him not to stop. Fitz did as she requested, never wavering or faltering in his thrusts until he felt her insides swell around him once more.

"Fitz," she screamed as her orgasm took her then seconds later it was Fitz's turn.

"Baby I'm gonna cum," he said breathlessly.

"Cum on me."

She didn't have to tell him twice, he stopped and barely pulled out quick enough to spill his seed all over stomach and breasts and he collapsed beside her, panting breathlessly.

They both barely caught their breath before Fitz's phone rang. He lazily ran his hand over the sheet, feeling for the phone until he found it. He checked the caller Id and sighed.

"It's Cyrus."

"Don't answer," mumbled Olivia.

Fitz threw the phone back on the bed and let it go to voicemail.

It rang a few more times before it stopped all together and then they just laid in silence.

"I feel like the luckiest man on earth," Fitz said after a while.

Olivia smiled.

"I wonder why…" she said teasingly.

Fitz chuckled and sat up.

"Come on, let's shower."

"5 more minutes baby, just let me lay here and enjoy this."

He smiled.

"No, get your ass up."

"Fitz, come on, stop it," she whined.

He ignored her and pulled her up and tugged her all the way to the bathroom, she sulked like a spoiled child the entire way there. They brushed their teeth and then Olivia turned on the faucet then got in the shower and waited for Fitz while he grabbed towels. A couple minutes later he joined her. She had already began lathering the bath sponge and once Fitz was wet all over, she ran the sponge all over his body until he was covered in suds and then he returned the favor. He took his time, leaving not even an inch of her body untouched. They kissed the entire time.

When they were finished they dried off and dressed themselves and then headed to the living room. Fitz dived in the couch and turned on the tv while Olivia went to the kitchen.

"I have takeout from last night do you wanna eat that?" she yelled from the kitchen.

"I'll eat anything you give me," Fitz yelled back.

"Even my vagina?"

Fitz laughed.

"Especially your vagina."

Olivia walked back to the living to find Fitz flipping through the channels trying to find something to watch. He looked very normal.

"Come Fitz tell me what you want, I ordered chicken parm, I know how much you like that, also there is shrimp alfredo and eggplant parm."

"Give me everything."

"You want all three?"

"Yep, I'm ravenous," he said as he kept his eyes on the tv.

"Okay, all three coming up."

She headed back to the kitchen and prepared the food and then placed it in a tray with orange juice and brought it back to the living room and placed it on the coffee table in front of the couch.

Fitz sniffed the food and grabbed his fork.

"This smells amazing, thank you baby."

He gave her a peck on the lips and then dug in. Olivia took her fork and started eating as well.

"You know I couldn't tell the last time I could sit down and flip through channels like this."

"You're the president, you're a busy, busy man."

Fitz smiled and took a sip of his orange juice.

"What should we watch? You know all the good shows right?"

"I do but before we get to that, first let me show you the stuff I got for you."

She jumped up excitedly and ran over to the foyer and grabbed all the bags and struggled back to the living room with them and then dropped them on the floor.

"Liv, I could have helped you with them."

"I'm a strong, independent woman and I don't need a man."

Fitz laughed and held up his hand to in a gesture of surrender.

"I can't argue with you there."

She plopped down on the couch and took a bite of her food.

"Come on, look at what I got you and tell me if you like them."

"Okay, okay," Fitz said like a petulant child.

He got up and pulled out the first thing he saw in one of the bags. It was a navy blue parka coat with brown mink fur trimming.

"Wow this is nice."

"Fitz a mink sacrificed himself to help make that coat the least you could do it try it."

He laughed and put the coat on.

"How do I look?" He asked.

"Fabulous," Olivia said with a smile.

"What brand is this?"

"Canada goose."

"Nice."

"I'm glad you like it, try the shirts."

"You got it; strong, independent woman who doesn't need a man."

Olivia laughed.

"I was joking, sort of, just shut up and try it."

He took of the coat and threw it over the ottoman and then took off his t-shirt. Olivia instantly started admiring his body.

"You are so sexy."

"I've been told."

She threw at cushion at his head and it hit him squarely in his face.

"Ouch," he said as he chuckled.

"LET ME IN JOSH!" Cyrus screamed in the hallway.

Fitz and Olivia looked at each other like they both got caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

"I KNOW HE'S IN THERE, YOU BETTER LET ME IN!"

Fitz couldn't hear what Josh was saying in response to Cyrus all he could hear was Cyrus' screaming.

"FITZ OPEN THE DOOR RIGHT NOW."

"Why does he sound like my father?" Fitz said mostly to himself.

"Are you going to get it?" Olivia asked.

"I don't think he'll leave if I don't."

"Okay."

Fitz walked over to the door and opened it and Cyrus immediately marched in angrily.

"Seriously Fitz, you blow off the luncheon telling me your sick just to sneak out and spend time with your girlfriend?"

"Hi Cyrus," Olivia said with a smile.

"Hello Olivia, I'm guessing you had everything to do with this."

"You know Cyrus, I'm not gonna deny that I did, he needed a break."

Fitz went back the the couch and sat by Olivia.

"I can't believe you did this Fitz, in case you forgot, you are the president, the most powerful man in the world, the most important man in the world and you don't just get to blow off a day's work because you want to relax. We don't get to relax, I haven't relaxed in 30 years!"

"It's done Cyrus, why are you chastising him about it, it's just one day, he works every weekend and he took a day, calm down," Olivia said angrily.

Fitz smiled, he loved when she stood up for him, it made him feel like they were a team.

"Calm down? Calm down? He's the president, he doesn't get to take a day," screamed Cyrus.

"Don't raise your voice at her," Fitz interjected coolly

Olivia smiled.

"The way I see it, you can stay here and be calm or you can go, but preferably go, we were in the middle of something," Olivia said glibly.

Cyrus grew his hands up.

"The luncheon is put off until tomorrow at 12pm and as a special treat for you Fitz, Sally Langston will be praying her ass off, I know how much you love to sit through those."

Fitz chuckled.

"I suppose I deserved that."

"Whatever, if 10am comes and you aren't at the White House, I quit."

"You got it boss."

Cyrus hissed and stormed out, slamming the door shut as he left.

"I thought that would've been worse," said Fitz.

Olivia giggled.

"Does he threaten to quit often?"

"Only every couple of days."

"Now where were we," Olivia pretended to ponder, " I remember, I was about to tell you to take your pants off so I could get a better look at you."

Fitz smiled and stood up to take off his pants.

"No, let me," Olivia offered.

She stood up and pulled down his pants and underwear and watched as he kicked them off. She turned off the tv because she didn't want to hear anything but the sound of Fitz's voice when she sucked him off.

She kissed him on the lips and then his chin and then down his neck. She heard a soft moan escape his lips and it sent her in a tizzy. She began stroking him.

"Tell me I mean the world to you."

He held her face and looked her in the eye as he spoke.

"You mean the world to me."

"Good because I'm going to suck your cock dry while your guards stand outside and listen and wish they were you."

She stopped stroking him and pushed him down on the couch and stood over him.

"Sit."

Fitz was too excited to say anything, so he just obeyed her orders.

She grabbed a cushion and dropped it on the floor between his feet. She kissed him again, biting and sucking his lips.

"Relax and enjoy yourself okay."

Fitz nodded.

She bend down and got on her knees in front of him. He leaned over and pulled down the straps of her camisole exposing her breasts.

"I wanna see you."

Olivia smiled and pulled her cami down to her waist and then groped her breast so he could see.

She kissed up his shaft at first, slowly, letting her tongue linger with every kiss and then she worked her way down to his balls and up again. When he was good and wet, she took him in her mouth as far as she could go and then she pulled back. Fitz let out a loud guttural groan and grabbed a handful of her curly hair.

She took him in her mouth again, further than before and sucked hard.

"Jesus Christ!"

She pulled back and licked and kissed his tip slowly and tenderly, almost like she was making love to it and then when Fitz was panting breathlessly she took him in her mouth again and sucked him. She took her time, bringing him right to the edge and making sure he didn't go over. Fitz spared no expletive to express the immense amount of pleasure he was experiencing and he wasn't quiet about it either. When she finally brought him to a loud, manic climax, she let him spill into her mouth and when she swallowed it she stuck her tongue out to show him. He smiled and threw his head back on the couch and breathed deeply to catch his breath.

Olivia laid in the floor and watched his chest rise and fall with every breath.

"I loving hearing you cum, it's so manly and animalistic,I think I could get off just by hearing it."

Fitz chuckled.

"You have no idea what you just started."

Olivia popped her head up and raised her eyebrow at him.

"What did I start?"

"I have to top that."

"Oh please you can't compete with my oral skills, I'm a doctor Fitz, you don't think I know every single area of your body and where to touch it. There are so many things that I know that I haven't even done to you as yet."

"Like what?" He said with a grin.

"Things that I learned at a love temple in Tibet, in India, I picked up a few things from an enchantress in Africa too, things that I'm gonna keep you guessing about until I do them to you," she said seductively.

"You talk a good game Liv but do you not remember how you screamed and almost pulled my hair out the last time my tongue was in between your legs."

Olivia laughed.

"I recall no such thing."

Fitz leaned over and looked down on her.

"Really?"

"Yes, I have a terrible memory, however, you could come over here and remind me."

"I'll come over there and remind you but first I want you to stand up and take your clothes of for me."

Olivia smiled excitedly and stood in between Fitz legs. She attempted to pull her camisole over head but her movements were to swift for Fitz liking.

"Slowly," he commanded.

She heeded his command and slowly pulled off her cami and shorts, leaving only her white lace thong.

He wrapped his arms around her hips and pulled her on top of him; Olivia squealed and grabbed onto his hair.

Fitz kissed a line down her stomach, leaving small love bites in his wake. The more Fitz kissed, the heavier Olivia breathed.

He turned her around, bent her over slightly and parted her legs then kiss down the small of her back as he groped her ass. He kissed his way down her ass and inner thigh as he slowly pulled her thong to side and ran his fingers over her slit. Upon realizing how wet she was he immediately slid two fingers inside her.

Olivia gasped and grabbed him tighter. Fitz smirked; feeling wholly satisfied by her reaction.

"You know," he said as he worked his fingers teasingly insider her, "for someone who can't seem to remember how good I gave it to you, your body sure wants me."

"Mmm," she moaned softly, delightfully.

He pulled his fingers out and pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her waist and breasts.

She could feel him in between her legs, he was still semi erect. She widened her legs and grinded herself against him. It felt euphoric but Fitz stopped her.

"Woah, not so fast."

Olivia panted.

"That's not fair, I didn't tease you."

Fitz scoffed.

"You didn't tease me, you stopped me from coming about 5 different times just now, do you know how painful that was."

"I'm sorry," she whined.

Fitz smiled.

"You will be..."

Olivia's mouth fell open then curved into a smile at his veiled threat. He lifted her off his lap and laid her on the floor and spread her legs open.

She smiled when she felt his breath on her and then she felt the tip of his tongue lightly teasing her.

"Baby, that tickles," she said as she giggled and curled her toes.

Fitz looked up and smiled and then continued. Her giggles were short lived, soon he had her moaning as he slithered his tongue deeper and deeper into her slit.

The pleasure up to that point had been bearable, then Fitz attacked her clit so intensely that she completely lost all control. Within minutes he brought her to a screaming orgasm. She screamed so loud that she had to cover her mouth but it was too late because Josh and Tom came barging in.

"Mr. president is everything alright-"

"What the fuck-" Fitz screamed.

They exited immediately, closing the door behind them.

Fitz pulled her hand off her mouth and kissed her as she tried to catch her breath. She wrapped her legs around his waist and guided him inside her. Fitz held her face and kept his eyes locked on hers as he settled into a slow, circular grind. Olivia grabbed his ass and shoved him deeper.

"Right there baby," she moaned breathlessly.

He stopped and held her and in a moment of raw emotion he spoke his true feelings.

"You're mine, do you hear me, mine and nothing or no one is going to take you from me again, not now, not ever. I can't lose you again Liv, I can't."

She saw water gather in his eyes and then she felt a drop of it fall on her cheek. Seeing him emotional made her emotional.

"No, no, no, don't cry baby." she grabbed his face and kissed him on his lips and then she hugged onto him tightly, coddling him.

"I love you, you're not going to lose me, I am yours and you are mine," she whispered softly in his ear.

They laid quietly for a while as she ran her fingers up and down his back in an attempt to comfort him.

"Fitz, baby are you alright?"

He leaned up and kissed her.

"Sorry...I don't know where that came from."

"It's okay."

She kissed him again and then she felt him thrust slowly into her and he continued until they both climaxed and then they fell asleep on the floor shortly after.

"Mr. president, mr. president," Tom said as far away from Fitz and Olivia as he could. It was awkward for him because though they were partly covered by a blanket on the floor, he could still see Olivia's breasts and he knew how Fitz was about her so he tried staying as far away as possible. They'd spent most of the night alternating between watching tv, eating snacks and feeling each other up, the last of which, required no clothes so they never got dressed after they had sex.

"Mr. president?" Tom said again.

Fitz jumped up.

"What's going on?"

He turned around and saw Tom standing at the far side of the room. She looked down and saw Olivia partly exposed and covered her up.

"Mr. president, it's 11:03am, you have the luncheon at 12. Mr. Beene is going crazy."

"Shit, shit ,shit."

Fitz checked his watch.

"Tom give me 5 minutes, I'm coming right now."

"Yes sir."

Tom walked out quickly leaving them alone.

Fitz ran to the bathroom and brushed his teeth and washed his face. He smoothed out his hair and ran to the bedroom to get dressed and then went back to the living room. He picked Olivia up and brought her to her bedroom and covered her under the sheets and tapped her gently and woke her up.

"Liv, baby, I have to run back to the White House."

She stretched and yawned.

"Okay baby, gimme a kiss before you go."

Fitz leaned over and kissed her.

"I love you, I know you're going back to sleep, call me when you wake up okay."

"Okay, love you too."

He kissed her one last time then he left.


	37. Chapter 37

Let me know your thoughts below.

It's was early Monday morning when Fitz strutted down the hallway to his office.

"Good morning Sarah, how's the family," he said casually.

"Hey Bob, I heard Sheila left, take it from me, the first marriages never work, am I right?"

Fitz didn't wait for an answer, he just kept walking, grinning widely as he greeted his staff.

"Terry-Ann, how's the clean water initiative coming along, you know what, email me."

"Yes sir."

"Craig, stop by the office sometime, let's chat."

"Absolutely Mr. President."

Fitz continued whistling his way down to the oval.

"Morning Charlotte," he said with a smile.

"Morning Mr. President."

"How are the girls?"

"They're good, Samantha just got engaged and Jenny is almost done with college, thanks for asking."

"You got it."

Charlotte tried to stifle a laugh, she found his behavior odd.

When he walked into his office he was greeted by a hot cup of coffee on his desk and he immediately went for it, beside it was a stack of briefing papers he needed to read before his 9:30am security briefing.

He flipped the first page and pulled out his cell and dialed Olivia, he figured he could chat with her while he read. The phone almost went to voicemail before she picked up.

"Morning," she said through a yawn.

"Morning, I missed you last night."

"I missed you too but I mostly slept through the day anyways. Where are you, are you in the residence?"

"I'm in the oval, it's almost 8."

Olivia checked the time on her phone.

"Oh shit, I didn't realize."

Fitz smiled.

"What are you doing today, are you coming by the White House?"

"No, I'm going to New York, Sahara's birthday is tomorrow and I have to help out with her party and I wanted to take her out this evening maybe to Chuck E. Cheese or something, I haven't decided yet."

"You didn't tell me you were going to New York."

"Actually I did, you just didn't wanna hear it."

"Dammit, you told me last week, I forgot, how long are you gonna be gone?"

"I'll be back on Wednesday."

Fitz sighed.

"That's a long time."

"It's barely three days."

"More like three years, what time are you going to the airport?"

"I'm driving but I'm gonna leave at 10 so I can get there around 2:30 or 3, depending in the traffic."

"Okay, just uhm - call me before you leave."

"Don't worry, I know the drill baby."

Fitz chuckled.

"So you didn't do anything last night after I called?" He asked.

"I mean, I watched tv and ate stuff, I did a little online shopping, the new Jonathan Simkhai collection was just too good to pass up and I also got Sahara some stuff from Toys r us, a whole bunch of bubble guppies and minnie mouse crap that she's obsessed with. I express shipped it so it should get there by her birthday."

Fitz laughed.

"If I remembered your goddaughter's birthday was coming up I would have gotten her something."

"No, she's spoiled enough and plus I got her enough for both of us."

"Take pictures, I wanna see pictures."

"Will do Mr. President, by the way what's Gerry up to?"

"He practically spent the entire evening in the oval with me yesterday, doing homework and catching up."

"Aww your such a great dad, I love how you make time for him."

"Great enough to father your children in the future?"

Olivia smiled.

"We'll just have to see won't we."

Fitz took a sip of his coffee.

"How did you fare last night without me? This morning? I know how you love to wake up with erections in the mornings." Olivia teased.

"Oh god don't get me started, I was a mess this morning but you know, I've never been happier."

"I wonder what in the world could make you so happy."

"You know, before we actually started having sex, I really couldn't think about anything else, oh the torture, especially the way you used to tease me and now-"

"It's better?"

"It's worse," he said with a chuckle.

She laughed and shook her head.

"How is it worse, we've had sex before you know what it's like."

"That's the problem, I know what's it like and it's great and that's why I can't stop thinking about it. Yesterday, I had a 20 minute conversation with the founder of the Liberty network at the luncheon and I have no idea what we talked about. All I could think about was how you managed to get your ass so round and so perfect. I've never been an ass man but it's just so soft and firm at the same time, I just was slap and bite into like a damn steak."

"Well you can slap it and bite it all you want when I get back from New York on Wednesday."

"You mean next year cause that's what it feels like."

"I mean Wednesday you spoiled man baby."

Cyrus strutted into the office with his assistant Ethan.

"Shit, Cy is here, can I call you after my briefing."

"Yeah sure, I need to get ready anyways."

He waited for her to hang up and then placed his phone in his desk.

"Morning Cyrus, Ethan."

"Morning Mr. President," Ethan responded,

"Uhm Ethan can we have a second, I'll call you when I need you," said Cyrus.

"Sure, I'll be in my office."

Ethan turned and headed out, Cyrus walked over and sat by Fitz's desk.

"Everyone in the hall is wondering why you're in such a good mood."

"I'm in a good mood? I mean it's a pretty normal morning."

"Even yesterday, you were happier than a turkey the day after thanksgiving."

"If I was, I don't see how that's a bad thing."

"It's not, in fact, it's a great thing, I thank Olivia for it because we both know it's her, right?"

"She makes me happy, I don't know what to tell you. What's going on, do you not like her or something, I thought you were over that?"

"I like her but we have to think politically."

That was enough to wipe the smile right of Fitz's face, he felt like he knew where Cyrus was headed and he didn't have the patience for it. Cyrus realized Fitz sudden change in demeanor.

"Don't worry, I think you'll like what I have to say, after everything that happen when she was taken, I know she's here to stay. That being said election is coming up next year and I have to admit I'm a little worried, our far right base won't like it but we can steal a lot of democratic votes, you're definitely moderate enough, in fact I think that's gonna be a big plus. Now if we are going to do that, we are going to have to roll her out in grand fashion, we are going to have to PR the hell out of this. The good thing is- and I know this sounds bad but as far as black women go you couldn't have picked a better one, she's the doctor who saved both you and your son, she's brilliant, does she have one of the highest IQ's in the world?"

Fitz smiled.

"Yes and that IQ score was from when she was 12, it might be higher now."

"Good, she's pretty, she's wealthy in her own right so no one can say she's with you for your money, she's old enough, she's respected in her field, she's a humanitarian, she got kidnapped by terrorist during a doctors without borders trip for god sake, that's a lot of political capital and pity points. The suicide attempt will be a problem but we can chalk it up to ptsd."

"I'm surprised you're being so proactive."

"Well, it's been a long time since the divorce and people are beginning to worry that their president might have blue balls, so we need a date, a very public date, preferably once Gerry is up and walking again which will be when?"

"A week or so at most."

"Perfect, we need to plan something, I'll have one of the aides come up with some ideas and you can choose from that."

"It's funny you say that because I actually had been planning something, I planned to ask her out next week."

"What did you have in mind?"

"I thought I'd have Randy cruise the yacht down to the marina so we could sail out to the bay and have a nice dinner."

"No, what I have a said Fitz, we do not remind people that you are rich, you're not gonna take your girlfriend on your private yacht the size of a house and it's not public enough, we need pictures of you gushing over her in public, with people watching."

"I wanted something more private and romantic, I didn't want it to be a big show."

"Romance, I thought you guys had enough of that on Saturday?"

Fitz chuckled.

"How do you know that?"

"It's not hard to guess, I'm sure you guys weren't knitting all day."

"We were knitting something alright," Fitz joked.

"Ahh spare me the details. I'll have some options on your desk so we can plan this thing."

"I don't want a dog and pony show Cyrus, I want a nice, normal date and if you make into some big farce, I'll go back to planning it myself. In fact, I'm still gonna plan my option so we can have a backup plan. I've been waiting to take her out for a long time, I want it to be nice."

"Okay, I hear you."

Cyrus checked his watch.

"Come on, intelligence briefing is coming, make sure you finish up with your packets."

Fitz sighed.

"I'm not a child Cyrus, I've been reading these for years and I've always finished them."

"Ella's got me feeling paternal, what can I say. Finish reading I'll meet you in the situation room."

Fitz skimmed quickly through his packet and by the time Cyrus came back to collect him for his briefing he was finished.

The meeting lasted just over an hour as it usually did when there was no impending threat.

As he walked past Charlotte and into his office, he saw her smile and he wondered what it was about. He opened his door and a saw Olivia sitting on the couch with her legs crossed.

He couldn't help but smile.

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

She scoffed.

"Is that how you greet your girlfriend after she postpones her trip to come and see you cause you were whining like a baby over the phone?"

He chuckled and walked over to her and leaned over and kissed her on the lips and nose.

"I'm not complaining one bit, trust me."

He kissed her again and took a seat on the couch beside her.

She was dressed in a satin, champagne colored flowy wrap dress that tied into a beautiful bow at the waist and stopped a couple inches above her knee, making her legs look longer than they were. Her hair was messily wrapped up with a few stray hairs framing her face and flowing down her neck. She wore a diamond stud earring that dazzled in the natural daylight but kept her neck and arms bare of any jewelry and she finished her look with a pair of nude, suede dsquared platform heels that strapped around her ankles and a black, velvet Chanel quilted bag.

Fitz took a minute to take her in, she made him feel a sense of pride he'd never felt with anyone before her, it was possessive and he wasn't sure if he liked the feeling but somehow, wherever she was, as good as she always looked, the idea that men would see her and clamor over her and want her but they couldn't have her because she was his inflated his ego beyond measure.

"You look seriously hot."

Olivia looked down at her outfit and blushed.

"Really?" She said coyly.

"Baby, look at you. You look amazing."

"Aww thank you, I put no effort into this at all, it's important you know that."

Fitz laughed and shook his head.

"Also I would have worn jeans but I'm gonna have dinner with some of my friends later instead of taking Sahara out and I won't exactly have time to change so I'm being proactive," she said with a chuckle, "oh and by the way, I stopped at the organic market and I got you something."

She dug into the paper bag on the coffee table in front of her and pulled out a wrapped up sandwich and drink.

"It's an bacon and mozzarella cheese panini and mango lemonade, it's really good, I thought we could have an early lunch before I left, if you have time."

"Of course, that sounds great."

"How much time do you have?"

Fitz checked his watch.

"35 minutes, I have a listening session at 11:30."

Olivia jumped up.

"Perfect, I think 35 minutes is more than enough time to have a good old fashion bathroom quickie and then stuff these sandwiches down our throat right?"

Fitz's mouth fell open and curved into a smile.

"Wait, there is a secret bathroom in here right, unless the history books are wrong?"

"No there is, right over there."

She smiled.

"Let's go, we've already wasted enough time, chop, chop."

He chuckled and stood quickly and grabbed her hand, leading her to the bathroom door that discreetly melded into the wall. He opened the door quickly and pulled her in and started kissing her immediately. They barely had space to move around, it was a tiny half bathroom but they were still grateful. Olivia unbuttoned his pants and pulled them down and then stroked him with one hand while she hand her other hand tangled in his curls as they kissed. It didn't take very long so him to be fully erect, it was almost instantaneous, it was something only she could do to him.

He spun her around and bent her over the sink and pulled her underwear down and slapped her ass. He heard her giggle and moan in response and it made him chuckle. He lifted her dress and watched as she gripped her hands around the edge of the sink and braced herself for his thrusts.

What was suppose to be a 5 minute quickie turned into a 25 minute session. Every time they finished, they ended up going again, hoping to quell their appetite for each other enough to last until she came back on Wednesday.

Fitz held onto Olivia as he pumped his last load into her, he'd been careful not to pull out too quickly each time because he didn't want to make a mess.

"That was amazing, best quickie I ever had and you can quote me on that." he said breathlessly.

"Oh baby I'm always the best you've ever had."

They both laughed together and started cleaning themselves up. Fitz pulled out slowly and then damped a paper towel to clean up his cum that ran down her inner thigh, once he was done, she pulled up her underwear and fixed her dress. She helped Fitz fix his disheveled hair and smooth out his shirt and fix his pants. She took a damp paper towel and wiped her lipstick off his face and neck and checked his collar to make sure there was none there all the while they laughed and clumsily shuffled around until they sure they had no trace of 'I just had sex' on either of them.

Fitz opened the door and they both walked out laughing only to see Mellie sitting on the couch with her legs folded and arms crossed. Olivia was so startled she jumped back. Fitz was equally surprised but he didn't react.

"What the hell!" she said not because she was angry but because she was surprised.

"It's about time," Mellie said calmly, "I've been waiting for a while."

"You been sitting here listening?" Olivia asked, the anger slowly building up.

"It was quite amusingly actually, God knows Fitz never made love to me like that before but then again he never loved me."

Fitz rolled his eyes.

"What do you want and who let you in here?" He asked.

"Your guards, I told them it was an emergency, they were gonna ask you but you weren't in here so they assumed you took the passageway out and told me I could wait here."

"And what do you want?"

"I need to borrow the jet, I have to go back to California to handle some business."

"The doting mother who wants to stay by her son's side until he heals is leaving? I'm surprised and glad, but you aren't getting the jet, you can fly commercial or charter a jet for yourself."

"You barely gave me any money in the divorce, you expect me to be able to charter private jets, do you want me to go broke."

"You are such a fucking liar, you have more than enough money to do whatever the fuck you want so I'm unsure as to why you're here."

Fitz walked over to the coffee table and took a sip of the drink Olivia brought him then he checked his watch.

"Shit, I have to run to my listening session now-"

As he said the words, Cyrus bursts in the office.

"Fitz-" he stopped mid sentence, confused by the fact that they were all in the room together.

"Fitz your listening session starts in 5."

"I know, I'm coming."

He walked over to Olivia and grabbed her by the waist and kissed her unapologetically on the lips, ignoring both Mellie and Cyrus while sending a strong message with his gesture.

"Call me when you hit the interstate."

She smiled.

"I will, I know the drill and even if I don't, you have your guards spying on me."

"I know but still...call me okay, you know how I worry."

"I promise, I will."

He kissed her again.

"Perfect."

Fitz headed straight out the door.

"Bye Liv, Mellie," Cyrus said as he headed out as well.

Olivia cleared her throat and walked over to the couch and took a sip of her drink.

"Do you regret it?" She asked randomly.

The pervert in her liked the idea of Mellie listening to how good Fitz gave it to her because at least she knew what she was missing.

"Regret it?"

"Yeah, do you regret not making it work with him?"

Mellie was quiet for a while, as if she was reflecting.

"I guess it was doomed from the start, once we got married he tried, I'll give him credit for that, he wanted kids and I didn't but I made a compromise and he was happy for a while, when Gerry was born but then obviously I didn't pass the mothering test for him and I think that's when he started hating me. I do regret it in a way, I'm not gonna lie, the way he looks at you and talks about you and even when you're not around you can tell he's thinking you and I'd be lying if I said I didn't envy that especially when we were married but for us to work I'd have to be an inherently different person and I'm not sure I could stand that. I don't want children, never did and still don't, don't get me wrong I love Gerry, I do, but kids are just not me but Fitz," she sighed, "Fitz loves kids, all he wants are kids, he wants them to take fishing and hunting and jogging on Saturday mornings like he did with Gerry before he got hurt, I don't know how he does it."

She took a deep breath.

"He's going to ask you for children so be prepared, although I don't know if it will be a deal breaker for him, apparently you can do no wrong for him."

"And I want kids. He knew that before we-"

"Started having sex?"

Olivia rolled her eyes.

"Come on Olivia, you stole my husband from me, do you expect me to be polite? Do you expect me to like you? Do expect me to not feel sick to my stomach to watch him fawn over you like you are the only woman in the world? I'm only human, I have an ego, I have feelings. When he filed for divorce, you should have seen how happy he was, the only thing left for him to do was break out in song and dance, he was so excited to leave me for you and then you got kidnapped and just like that, his fire was extinguished, he was like a walking corpse. I didn't really believe in karma but when I heard you were taken I did. I thought that for once, I'd win. It was horrible for me to relish in your pain and his, but I did," she paused, "you have to understand that you took everything from me, Fitz would have never left me if it hadn't been for you, sure, he might have threatened me a couple times but he never went through with it and I don't think you're a bad person but you did break apart my family, and you did it with such arrogance and glib that-."

"You cheated on him first, your lover shot him and almost killed him, you broke your family apart, not me."

"It doesn't matter, when you met him he was married."

"Yeah he was married, not me, I didn't swear vows to you, he did but it did matter, you're divorced now, so you need to move on."

Olivia sighed, the conversation was wearing down on her.

"It's been great and as much as I'm enjoy this conversation, I have somewhere I need to be."

Mellie chuckled and stood up from the couch.

"Of course you're leaving, do you usually run away from a fight?"

"This wasn't a fight, it was a conversation and now that conversation is ending…ended, by the way, if I were you I wouldn't let him come back and see you in here."

Olivia grabbed her purse off the couch. Mellie noticed her diamond earrings.

"Did he buy you those?"

Olivia smirked.

"No."

With that Olivia threw her purse over her shoulder and skipped out.

When Fitz was finished with his listening session, he headed back to his office. Realizing he had no missed calls or message from Olivia he decided to call her. As soon as she picked up started on her case.

"I thought I told you to call me when you got on the interstate?"

"I'm not on the interstate yet, sheesh, I'm close though," she said laughing.

"Really, you should have been there by now."

"Yeah but Mellie and I had a little chat when you left."

"What did she say?"

"Her usual woe is me argument, it was weird though, she told me she doesn't think I'm a bad person while also telling me I'm a bad person, she literally gave me whiplash, she was all over the place."

She wasn't about to give him details about what Mellie said to get him riled up.

"Oh okay," Fitz laughed, "I think everyone in washington has heard us having sex at this point, how weird is it that she just sat there?"

"I actually like when people hear us, does that make me a dirty slut," she said playfully.

"Well if you are a dirty slut, you better be my dirty slut."

"Oh well, that's a given, and don't tell me it doesn't turn you or even slightly amuse you to make people both uncomfortable and horny when they have to listen to us getting busy."

Fitz laughed.

"I admit it, it does."

"I know Mellie panties were soaking when she saw us walk out that bathroom."

"Not Mellie, that woman is drier than toast."

Olivia laughed.

"You are terrible, anyways I'm getting to the interstate now, I'm gonna call you once I'm on the straight."

"Okay, love you."

"Love you too."

When Fitz hung up he got a little curious about what Mellie and Olivia spoke about.

"Tom?" he called loudly.

Tom entered the room moments later.

"Sir?"

"Can you bring me the video footage with audio of the oval from 10:45 till now."

"Yes sir, I'll get to it."

"Thank you."

Tom nodded and headed out.

Fitz had a little time to himself so he went to the residence to see what Gerry was up to and hang with him for a while. By the time he got back to the oval, he had a flashdrive on his desk labelled from Tom.

He pulled out his laptop and injected the usb and pulled up the video. He watched as Olivia walked in and made herself comfortable, a few moments later he walked in as well. When they got in the bathroom, he faintly heard Olivia's moans, they were trying to be discrete and whenever she got too loud he kissed her to muffle her moans. A few minutes later, he saw Mellie walk in. She looked at the food that was on the table and then when she heard Olivia moan she walked over to the bathroom and stood at the door listening for quite sometime and when she heard them finish, she rushed over to the couch and sat and crossed her legs as if nothing happened. He listened to their argument and how Olivia defended him and when Olivia said she would give him children, it seemed like the icing on the cake to his day that had been going great so far but he was also really angry about the things Mellie said to her.

He sat, debating whether or not he wanted to let Olivia know he listened to their conversation and ultimately decided not to tell her.


	38. Chapter 38

Olivia, Abby, Kamaya, Elliot, Harrison and Huck all made their way to the private booths at the back of the restaurant. Olivia sat in the middle of her group of friends and made herself comfortable.

"I'm so glad you drove up here, I've missed you so much. She left me you guys," Abby began.

Olivia rolled her eyes playfully.

"I'm here aren't I," she giggled, "and I'm starving."

She picked up the menu and glanced through.

"Planning this freaking party has been so hectic and you know the funny part, my bad ass daughter doesn't even seem to care," said Kamaya.

"Hey, don't talk about my goddaughter," Olivia joked.

They all chuckled.

"So how's it been in D.C., how's the president's son?" Harrison asked.

"He's good, he's almost walking."

"When are you gonna start working again?" asked Huck.

"I don't know, I'm taking things easy, I've always been working and right now I don't feel like traveling and taking on cases, I really am not looking for any high stakes situations right now although I do think that maybe it's time to work on a new project, a new medical breakthrough maybe, I've had some ideas floating around in my head and I've been thinking maybe that I could move my office down to D.C., with all the lab and research equipment, it's not like I'm using it here."

"If you move the office, what would I do, I practically run that place?" asked Harrison.

"I'd give you a salary until you found a new job or you could come to D.C. and help me with my research."

"No way, you're not taking Harrison to D.C. too, you already have Stephen down there," Abby said adamantly.

Olivia laughed.

"Geez okay, Harry you can't come, Abby said so."

Harrison laughed.

"Thanks mom."

"You're welcome," said Abby.

They all laughed and bantered and proceeded to order their meals. As they waited for their meals, Olivia decided to take some pictures.

"Come on guys, let's take a group shot."

"That sounds like those porno scenes where all the guys cum on that one girl's face," said Abby.

They all erupted in laughter.

"Oh my god, you're right," Olivia said as she laughed, "but still, let's take a picture, we haven't been out in forever."

They scrunched together and smiled for the selfie that Olivia took then they all took turns taking separate picture until the food came.

By the time they finished dinner and stood outside the restaurant on the curb, they began brainstorm things they could do instead of going home.

"Why don't we go to 1 Oak," Elliot suggested.

Elliot was another co-worker of Olivia's from her Columbia days. He was her old medical assistant. He was flamboyantly gay and always seemed to be the life of the party.

"Hell yeah, let's go," said Kamaya.

They all agreed and called an uber to to drop them to the club. Her secret service agents weren't far away, they always seemed to be in the corner somewhere watching her. When Olivia got in the car, she decided to call Fitz just to check in for the night before things got crazy.

"Hey babe."

"Livie what's up?"

"Nothing, we just finished having dinner, we're going to go out for drinks now."

"Where are you?"

"I'm in the back of a cab," she chuckled, "we're all crunched up, I'm sitting in Elliot's laps."

"Who the hell Elliot and why are you sitting in his lap?"

Olivia giggled.

"Don't worry, he's gay."

They all laughed.

"Let me guess, he doesn't want you in Elliot's lap," said Abby.

Fitz heard Abby's comment.

"Tell Abby I said shut up."

Olivia smiled.

"He said shut up."

Abby scoffed and smiled.

"Well it sounds like you're having fun."

"I am, what are you doing?"

"I'm going over my speech for my meeting with Prime Minister Trudeau tomorrow."

"It's late, you should get some rest, I'm sure whatever you have in front of you is fine."

"Okay momma, I'm almost done, I'll go to bed right after."

She smiled.

"Okay, I love you, get some rest and call me tomorrow when you wake up."

"Okay, I love you too bye."

Olivia hung up.

"Lover boy doesn't want you in my lap huh?" said Elliot, "when are we gonna meet him?"

"Yeah," said Kamaya in unison.

"Mind your business you guys, you'll meet him when it's necessary."

They started laughing, even Huck who'd been his usual quiet self.

"What?" Olivia asked in a whiny voice.

"Nothing," said Harrison laughing.

They arrived at the 1 oak shortly after, they mostly spent their time at the bar, drinking and dancing. Olivia only danced with her friends, she was still paranoid about strangers even though she could see her guards standing by the entrance.

They left early morning, Olivia and Abby went home and everyone else went their separate ways to meet later in the day for Sahara's party.

* * *

Later in the morning when Olivia woke up, she checked her phone and saw that Fitz texted her good morning and told her to call him once she was up.

She got out of bed and brushed her teeth and then called him. The phone almost went to voicemail before he picked up, there was a lot of background noise and she wondered what was going on.

"Fitz, it's really loud, what's going on?"

"One sec."

She heard him take a few steps and then the background noise became less audible.

"Yeah sorry, it's a little crazy today, I can't talk for long but I wanted to tell you that Gerry is walking."

"What? That's great. When?""

"I know, he just woke up this morning and started walking. He walked right into my bedroom so casually. It was insane."

"Why didn't he call me?"

"I told him you were probably sleeping, it was pretty early in the morning."

Olivia smiled.

"Well, I'm so happy he's walking again. That's actually how another patient of mine started walking, he just got up on day and walked but it took him longer than Gerry though but he was older of course."

"Well this is all thanks to you-"

"Fitz we need you to practice your opening remarks!" Cyrus screamed.

He laughed.

"I'll call you later okay, Cyrus is calling me."

"Okay, baby, I'll talk to you later."

Once Olivia hung up with Fitz, she dialed Savannah.

"Morning Savannah, I'm still on for my 11am right?"

"Of course Liv, 11 o'clock is wide open for you."

"Great we have a a lot to talk about."

"Good, see you then."

Olivia hung up and quickly showered and dressed herself and then headed to Savannah's office. She sat in the lobby and waited until Savannah came out and greeted her with a hug.

"Liv! Finally, it's feels like forever."

Olivia returned the hug.

"I know."

"Come on in."

Olivia followed her to the office and took a seat on the couch.

"Coffee, tea, cookies?"

"Uh tea, thank you."

"Sugar?"

"No sugar, um, maybe one sugar."

Savannah chuckled and poured her a cup of tea and placed it in the coffee table in front of her and then sat opposite Olivia.

"Let me start by saying you look happier than I've ever seen you, I am a little mad at you for not calling me for our usual phone appointment for the past few days but you are here now so lay it on me."

Olivia smiled.

"Well, I'm sorry but I knew I was coming here and I figured I'd just talk to you in person because a lot has happened."

Savannah nodded; encouraging her to go on.

"Gerry is walking again, he started walking this morning and I'm really happy about that."

"That's great news, I think you did an exceptional job on working with Gerry considering you were going through such a difficult time."

Olivia smiled.

"Thank you."

"Since Gerry was a success, do you see yourself going back to your practice?"

"Not right now, Idon't want to feel- honestly, I just don't feel like I'm ready, I don't want to feel the pressure of a 12 hour surgery right now, but I've been thinking about it a lot and I think I can go back to the drawing board and come up with a cure for something," Olivia chuckled, "invent something, I don't know, I'm still thinking on it."

Savannah smiled.

"Good, that's really good. What about the fight you had last week, we haven't spoken since then, what happened after that?"

Olivia took a sip of her tea.

"When I called him he was really calm, he wasn't upset or anything. I apologized to him over the phone and then later in the evening when he came over, I apologized again and we had sex afterwards."

Olivia paused and waited for savannah's commentary.

"What caused you to have sex with him that night versus other nights where you had expressed to me that you didn't feel comfortable taking that step as yet? Did you feel like you owed him that because of the incident?"

"Honestly, I was horny and on top of that I just wanted to feel connected to him and to feel sexy and yeah I did feel bad about hitting him and that might've played a part but I didn't feel like I owed him, he's never made me feel like I owe him sex, in that moment it just felt right."

"Have you been intimate since that night?"

Olivia laughed.

"Have we? It was a long night Savannah and then a long morning and afternoon and night. My libido is higher than ever, so much so that I had to stop by his office yesterday to 'relieve myself' before I left for New York."

Savannah smiled.

"So you feel like your sex life is normal."

"My sex life is perfect."

"Good, I was wondering where this glow came from."

Olivia chuckled.

"On Saturday, as we made love he revealed to me that he still had fears about losing me, I mean, I could tell he was scared-"

"You seem surprised? Does he not usually open up to you?"

"He does but not like that. When I had the night terror, I said some things to him that worried him."

"What did you say?"

"I basically told him that I needed him and he wasn't there, you know, while I had been held hostage but I was disoriented when I woke up, I felt like I was back in Iran, I really didn't realize I had been rescued which was why I said that and it definitely hurt him, he already blamed himself so much for what happened and that didn't really help. I told him that wasn't how I felt now but I don't know how much that helped so I suggested that we speak with you together and he agreed."

"You want to have a joint session with me?"

"Yeah, what do you think?"

"I think that if you agree to do that, you should be prepared to be honest about what happened in Iran because I think that you haven't been open about that, not even with me and you'll have to be willing to speak about that."

"I've told you enough."

"You've barely told me anything about what happened there."

Olivia closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself.

"I'm not ready to talk about what happened there, actually I'm lying, I'm not going to talk about what happened there."

"Then you are not ready to have a session with him. If you are just going to tell him all the things he knows already then it makes no sense."

Olivia took another deep breath.

"What am I supposed to do. Do you have any idea how humiliating it is to be tortured and brutalized and starved for months, I'm sorry Savannah I'm not about to sit here and give you every lurid detail about what happened there, I'm just not. If anyone found out I don't know what I'd do."

Savannah could see Olivia was getting aggravated and there was something new that she sensed about her.

"It's makes you angry thinking about to what they did to you. It makes you angry that other people may find out what they did to you. According to you, everyone who participated in your abduction was arrested or killed during your rescue so how would anyone find out?"

"Why are doing this?"

"Olivia as your therapist, I can't always agree with you especially when I sense that you are holding back. I'm not going to always tell you what you want to hear."

"I have to go, I need to help out with my goddaughter's birthday."

Olivia stood up and grabbed her purse.

"Olivia getting upset and running from this won't help."

"I'm not upset, I told you I'm not gonna going into details about it and that's final, I'll tell Fitz that it's not a good idea for us to see you together right now."

"I never said it wasn't a good idea to have a joint session with me, I said it makes no sense if you weren't going to be honest."

"I can be honest, I've been honest, about my feelings, about my fears but Savannah I'm not telling anyone what happened there, I'm sorry, I'm not."

She was starting to get emotional and she really wanted to end the conversation. Savannah stood up and grabbed and tissue and handed it to her. She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Let's have the session together, you don't have to talk about what happened in Iran, we'll work through some things and see where it goes and who knows maybe you'll change your mind, maybe not."

Olivia nodded.

"I'm gonna give his secretary your card so she can schedule a meeting."

"Okay," Savannah smiled, Olivia was still really upset, "can I get a hug from my favorite patient?"

Olivia smiled and gave her a hug.

"You're only saying that because you think I'm mad at you."

"No, I mean it, you're very self aware, it's amuses me sometimes."

"Thanks... I think," Olivia smiled and headed out.

She took a moment to compose herself on the side of the street and then hailed a cab to Kamaya's apartment to help with Sahara's party. Abby, Kamaya, Harrison, Elliott and Sahara's nanny Simone were getting everything ready to take to the park and set up. When she walked into the apartment, Sahara had been running around destroying all the decorations and trying to take the party favors for herself.

"Sahara, come here baby, did you miss me?" She said as she walked through the door.

Sahara stopped as soon she heard Olivia voice and turned around and sprinted to Olivia.

"Va!" she screamed.

Olivia picked her up and kissed her.

"Happy birthday my little princess."

Kamaya ran over to her.

"Please Liv just watch her, she is driving me and Simone crazy."

Olivia smiled.

"Okay you got it," Olivia turned to Sahara, "come princess, let's go find something to do."

Olivia took her to the living room where everyone was gathered, busy completing their respective tasks.

She thought maybe she could keep Sahara busy with cartoons so she took her over to the couch and turned on the tv, it was on the news and Fitz and prime minister Trudeau were in the Rose Garden holding a press conference. She decided to see how long Sahara would let her watch it without fussing.

As she sat watching the news conference of Fitz and Trudeau side by side, out of nowhere she heard Kamaya; "damn, I'd like to be in the middle of that sandwich, look at them, I can't even hear what they're saying, look at those jawlines, they could cut glass."

Abby and Harrison started laughing.

"They have to be the two most attractive men to lead the world," said Elliott.

Olivia smiled but she didn't turn around.

"Which one would you rather?" asked Abby.

She knew Abby only asked that to annoy her.

"Well let's see," Kamaya began, "they are both really good looking, Grant is taller but he's also a republican, I hate republicans, Trudeau is liberal which is definitely a plus, I wonder who carries a bigger stick below the belt?"

"Olivia operated on president Grant, she might know," said Abby.

Olivia turned around and gave Abby the side eye.

"Yeah Liv, what's Grant packing down there?" Elliott asked.

"It's disappointing, it's really tiny, embarrassing if you ask me, you don't want Grant, you want Trudeau," Olivia said with a straight face, she wasn't about to tell them what her man had under his pants.

Harrison started laughing.

"That's disappointing but he's rich and Sahara's father is a dead beat so I guess I'd do him," said Kamaya.

"Well I'm throwing my ass in a circle for Trudeau then," said Elliott.

Olivia laughed.

"I'm sure his wife would like that."

"She can join us if she wants to," replied Elliot.

Sahara started fidgeting so Olivia changed the channel to cartoons so she could quiet down.

After hours of getting ready for the party around 3 in the afternoon the party commenced.

Olive spent most of her time running behind Sahara, who everyone seemed content to leave in her care. Even Simone, her nanny pretended not to see Sahara running around like a crazy little juggernaut.

Later in the afternoon, they cut the cake and sang Sahara a happy birthday before handing out the party favors and ending the party.

* * *

The next morning Olivia took Sahara to Chuck E. Cheese to spend the day with her since she wasn't able to do it on Monday and then by the afternoon, she drove back to D.C as planned.

By the time she got to her apartment. It was almost 8pm, she took a nice warm shower and threw on some underwear and one of Fitz's t shirts and headed to the kitchen. She wasn't hungry but she felt like snacking so she grabbed some fruit from the fridge and plopped down on the couch to watch tv as she ate.

Fitz had texted her letting her know he wasn't sure when he was going to finish working so she didn't expect him to come by so she sat on the couch watching episodes of The Boondocks until she retreated to her bedroom and fell asleep.

Fitz didn't get to the apartment until early morning. Usually he wouldn't come around that time but he really wanted to see her.

He'd called her a couple times but she didn't pick up so he knew she was asleep. He let himself in with his keys and headed straight to the bedroom to check on her. She was sound asleep, covered to her neck with a huge white comforter. He smiled and kissed her on the cheek and then went to take a quick shower.

After he finished showering, instead of getting dressed, he wrapped a towel around his waist and headed straight to the kitchen for a glass of scotch and drank it in one hard gulp and then headed to the bedroom.

As much as he wished he could just get dressed and go to bed, he couldn't, he was on edge after a long day and all he wanted was Olivia but she was asleep.

He laid on the bed, staring at the ceiling deciding whether or not it was a good idea to wake her up just because he was horny and wanted to have sex.

He'd really been playing it by ear when it came to her, she didn't reveal a whole lot about what happened when she was taken so he had no idea what would trigger her.

He turned his head and faced her, most of her face was covered by the blanket so he moved it and tucked the few stray strands of hair that fell on her face; behind her ears.

He gazed at her for a while before he planted the first kiss on her lips and then a second and a third and soon he felt her join in on the kiss and he was glad she did.

He pulled the blanket off her and threw it to the floor. He noticed she was only wearing a t shirt and sexy little lace panties and found it quite delightful.

She was laying flat on her stomach but said nothing, he was careful to read her body language, trying to sense any resistance as he kissed over her shoulder and down her back. When he kissed down the small of her back and reached her underwear she raised her hips for him and that's when he knew she wanted it as bad as he did.

"Take them off baby," she said just above a whisper.

Fitz slowly pulled the soft lace fabric over ass and down her legs and threw them on the ground. He pulled his towel off and positioned himself squarely behind her, straddling her. She kept her legs locked together and arched her back, giving him the perfect angle to enter her from behind.

He leaned over and kissed her.

"I missed you," he whispered in her ear as he entered her.

She could smell the scotch on his breath.

It was a new position for them and he didn't expect it to allow him to penetrate her so much deeper than before. Olivia seemed to love it too, she had her face buried in the pillow and a grabbed a fistful of sheets in both hands and every stroke resulted in a loud, muffled gasp.

He had both hands planted firmly on the small of her back as he stroked her long and deep and listened to her moans fill the room, they were soft and melancholic but it wasn't the first time Olivia got emotional during sex.

As Fitz felt his climax building and Olivia tightening around him so he knew she was close as well, he raised her hips up a little higher and then wrapped his arms around and grabbed onto her breasts and a few hard thrusts later, they both came in rapture.

Fitz collapsed beside her and tried to catch his breath. He could see Olivia smiling with her face buried in the pillow as she tried to catch hers as well.

"I missed you too," she said with a smile.

He smiled and pulled her closer so she was laying on his chest.

"Why do you get so emotional during sex?"

It was something he'd thought about on multiple occasions but never asked, he figured now was a good time.

She looked up at him and smiled and then rested her head back on his chest.

"I'm sorry if getting a good dicking from the man I love makes me emotional, what was I thinking, I must be crazy," she said sarcastically.

Fitz chuckled.

"That answer works fine for me."

"I bet that's what you wanted to hear, didn't you."

"A little bit yeah," he sighed and smiled, "how was your trip?"

"Fun, I have pictures from Sahara's party, she was so bad and they just left her all on me, even her nanny, it was the funniest thing."

He chuckled.

"Did she like her gifts?"

"She loved them, I'd show you the pictures on my phone but it's sooo far."

"Where is it?"

"On the nightstand."

Fitz looked over on the stand that was only a couple feet away and saw her phone.

"Really Liv?"

"I'm tired, I was sleeping you know."

He chuckled and stretched for the phone and handed it to her so she could unlock it and show him the pictures.

The first picture was of Sahara posing in her birthday outfit with the biggest smile on her face.

"This is her cute little birthday princess outfit, isn't she just the cutest."

"She is, is it weird that she kinda looks like you?"

"I've heard that before, every time I take her, people just assume she's my daughter."

Then Olivia skipped to a picture of her placing the birthday crown on Sahara's head as she stood ready to blow out her birthday candles.

"That's a nice picture."

"Thanks," Olivia said with a smile.

She flipped through a few more pictures then she shut off her phone and placed it back on the nightstand.

"Did you speak with your therapist?"

Olivia cleared her throat softly.

"I did, we talked for awhile, she doesn't think we should see her together as yet, she says I still have some stuff to work through."

Fitz didn't question it.

"Okay well whenever she thinks it's okay just let me know and we can fly her down here."

"Okay."

Olivia decided to change the subject before she started to feel guilty about lying.

"I'm gonna go get some water, do you want anything?"

Fitz jump up.

"No, I'll get it for you, I'll be right back."

He walked completely naked to the kitchen and grabbed her a bottle of water and then hurried back. When he walked into the room Olivia smiled.

"Turn around," she ordered.

"Why?" he said as she turned around.

"Nothing, I just wanted to see your tight buns, can you flex them for me?"

Fitz laughed and turned back around and walked over to the bed and handed her the water.

"I'm not gonna flex my ass muscles for you, I'm not a gigolo."

"I blow you like a maniac, you better be my gigolo."

Fitz gave her the side eye and smirked.

"Agreed."

She laughed and took a sip of her water and placed it on the nightstand.

Fitz picked up the blanket and threw it over her then joined her on the bed and pulled her close and gave her a soft peck on the lips.

They laid together, chatting about mundane things until they both drifted to sleep.


	39. Chapter 39

Two days passed before Fitz could make it back to her apartment. Once again, he worked so late that by the time he got there, Olivia was fast asleep, so he showered and went to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of scotch.

He took his drink to the dining room and sat around the table to finish reading through the bill congress proposed, it was 300 pages of confusion and they just wanted him to sign it into law without hesitation before they went on recess at the end of the week. He'd been working on it for a couple days and he had a couple more to finish and decide whether he was going to sign it or not.

As he sat reading, he heard the patter of footsteps coming his way and looked up. Olivia stood directly in front of him in only a t shirt, underwear and fuzzy socks.

"Fitz it's like 2 in the morning, why are you out here?"

"I have some stuff I need to go over and I didn't want to disturb you."

She smiled.

"I don't mind being disturbed, what are you working on?"

"Congress proposed a bill, they want it signed before recess."

She leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips.

"I missed you."

He smiled.

"I missed you too."

She kissed him again, longer this time.

"You have aides to do this you know."

"Yeah but what I think is wrong with this bill and what my aides think is wrong are two completely different things."

She moved his arm and sat in his lap.

"How can I help?"

"Um-"

"How about I run through it and I'll sort it, I'll let you know what's just fluff and I'll put that to the side and whatever is concrete and has to do with the actual bill I'll pass over to you."

"That's perfect. I've done everything in the pile on the right already."

"Okay."

She smiled and kissed him again.

Olivia looked at both piles.

"How many pages it is? 305 right?"

"How did you know that?"

"I guessed."

"You guess that?" Fitz asked skeptically.

"Well, I calculated the width of a single page to figure how many were in both piles."

"You did that just now?"

"Mhmm."

"Okay smarty pants."

She took a sip of his scotch and began sifting through the pages quickly searching for anything of importance.

Fitz noticed that as she read, she fidgeted a lot, it was something he never noticed about her before and as hard as he tried to focus on his work, he couldn't because all he could think about was the fact that she was in his lap in really sexy underwear.

"Do you usually fidget this much when you read?"

"I'm sorry, it is bothering you."

"No, not at all, I've just never noticed that about you."

"I don't usually fidget this much it's just that," she learned closer and whispered, "I'm really horny."

Fitz let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank god, I thought it was just me."

She laughed.

"But we have to finish this."

"We can finish in the morning, I have until Friday to sign," Fitz suggested as he pulled her back so she was leaning on his torso.

"If you have until Friday why are you up at 2 in the morning doing it?"

He wrapped one arm around her waist and used the other to trace his finger up and down the crotch of her black lace underwear.

"Do you think I became president by procrastinating?"

His voice was raspy and she thought it was the sexiest thing in the world.

"Aren't you procrastinating right now?" she teased.

He chuckled.

"Yes but only cause you're making me."

She smiled and turned around so she was facing him then she straddled him and wrapped her arms loosely around his neck.

"Look at my handsome man," she said as she kissed him.

She was about to take her top off when she felt a sharp pang.

"Ouch Fitz, migraine," she whimpered.

He felt her tighten her arms around him as she buried her face in the crook of his neck to hide from the light. He quickly reach back and flipped the switch that was on the wall behind them.

They sat in the dark together in silence, Fitz caressed her and gently ran his hands up and down her back, waiting for the migraine to pass. It was something he could never get used to but, she handled it so well that he didn't panic as much anymore. As the minutes passed and he began to feel her arms loosen around him, he looked down and realized she was asleep. He took her to the bedroom and snuggled her under the blankets until he drifted to sleep as well.

The next morning when Olivia woke up, she noticed Fitz was already gone from the bed. She checked the time and realized it was still early so she knew he was probably getting ready to leave. She headed straight to the bathroom to find him shaving by the sink bare chested.

"Hey baby," she said as she wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed his back.

"How are you feeling?"

By his tone, she could tell he was worried and she hated that he worried so much.

"I'm good, in fact I was hoping we could finish where we left off last night… in the shower maybe?"

Fitz smiled.

"Why don't you gauge the water and get in, I'll be right behind you."

"You got it, Mr. President."

She stripped naked and turned on the faucet to gauge the water, Fitz finished shaving and joined her moments after she got in the bath.

She smiled widely as he stepped in the shower in front of her and instinctively grabbed his face and kissed him. As they kissed, she grabbed his shaft and stroked him slowly until he spun her around and pushed her up against the wall. She widened her stance and poked her ass out for him and watched as he used his saliva to lubricate his tip and then he entered her.

She screamed as rubbed her clit and pounded her against the wall, sending her over the edge twice before he came as well.

By the time they got out the shower it was time for Fitz to leave. He dressed himself as Olivia brushed her teeth and then made a fresh pot of coffee in the kitchen. As she was pouring a cup of coffee for them both, Fitz walked in the kitchen holding two ties.

"Which one?" he asked.

She pondered for a moment.

"The Cyan."

"You mean blue?"

"Yes."

He handed it to her so she could tie it around his neck. As she tied it, he stared at her and grinned.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing," he said as he continued smiling.

"Fitz what it is?"

"Nothing, can't I smile?"

"You can but.."

"This morning was fun, I enjoyed it alot."

She slapped him on the arm.

"You could have just said that you know. Anyhow, I had twice as much fun."

"Quality over quantity, I came harder."

"Do you really want to have a debate about this, because I'm ready."

He chuckled as she turned around and handed him his coffee.

"Gerry's meeting me at the hospital at three for his x-ray."

"Yeah I remember, I'll try to be there."

"Okay and I have some stuff I need to talk to you about, not now though, later."

"What stuff?"

Fitz got a little anxious.

"It's nothing to worry about just whenever we have time, we need to sit down and talk about some things."

"Like?"

"Like the fact that I'm thinking of moving my office to D.C."

Fitz breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh thank god."

"What did you think I wanted to talk about?" she asked suspiciously.

"I don't know."

Fitz remembered that he wanted to ask her a question about the date and changed the subject.

"By the way, completely unrelated to anything, how do you feel about going on a boat?"

"Why do you ask?"

"No reason."

"Is it a big boat or a little boat?"

"Big."

"I guess I'd be okay with that, why?"

"No reason, just an innocent question."

"Okayy..."

He took a sip of his coffee and smiled.

"You aren't gonna try to buy me a boat or anything are you?" she asked with her eyebrows furrowed.

"No, do you want one, if you wanted one I would?"

"I do not want a boat, I repeat, I do not want a boat."

He chuckled.

"Fine no boat," he sighed, "have I told you how beautiful you look in the mornings?"

She blushed.

"Just go to work, before I hold you captive here."

"Okay, okay, I'm going," he said laughing.

He took a few more sips of his coffee then grabbed his jacket and his piles of paperwork.

"I love you, I'll see you later," he said as he kissed her goodbye.

"I love you too… MAKE GOOD DECISIONS!" she shouted as he walked out the door.

She heard him laughing in the hallway as she closed to door.

Once she was alone, she went back to the kitchen to finish her coffee and grab something to eat then she turned on the tv and grabbed her laptop to check her emails as she ate on the couch.

As she scrolled through her inbox, she saw an email from the board of MIT, inviting to her host a special lecture on the intersection of technology and medicine and how it played a part in her stem cell research. She got so excited that she fell off the couch and once she got up she called Fitz right away.

She waited impatiently as the phone rang and as soon as he answered, she began.

"Babe, you won't believe it, MIT just invited me to host a lecture."

"I think you qualify as their most successful graduate so I'm not surprised they asked you at all."

She smiled.

"I'm overthinking it already, it's a special lecture, school will be out, they invited a bunch of aspiring doctors from across the country and they want me to talk to them, I'm so excited. I have to call Abby and Harrison, I'll talk to you later."

She said quickly before hanging up without giving Fitz chance to respond.

She called Abby, Harrison and Stephen to share the good news. She wanted to call Huck but he would hardly understand what a big deal it was to her. After she responded to the email, she began her online search for a lab space in the area.

A little after 1pm, she started getting dressed to go to the hospital to meet Gerry. She threw on some Marni taupe chinos and a white cotton button down and her Gucci princetown leather slippers and headed out.

By the time she made it to the hospital, she had 20 minutes to spare so she hung in Stephen's empty office for a while until Gerry and Fitz arrived a little after 3pm. When Gerry walked in, he walked right up to her and gave her a hug.

"Woah, what was that for?" she asked with a smile.

"I'm walking again."

"Thanks for not calling me when that happened by the way, now I know where we really stand."

Gerry laughed, so did Fitz.

"Sorry, dad said you were sleeping, I didn't want to bother you."

"Gerry, I'm kidding."

Fitz walked up to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"You look great."

"Always."

Gerry laughed.

"So dad told me your giving a lecture at MIT."

"I am, in three weeks."

"Wow do you think I could come, you know and listen in?"

"I think that would be great but it's all about my stem cell research so it might get boring for you unless that's the kind of stuff your really interested in?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna be a junior next year, I need to start thinking about what I wanna do after high school and stuff and I was thinking medicine, you know after you helped me walk again, I wanna learn how to help people like that, really make a difference and change people's lives."

Olivia's heart melted into a big glob of goo.

"Aww Gerry, I'm gonna give you a hug."

"No, I'm not a baby," he said faking resistance.

Olivia ignored him and gave him one anyways.

"Hold up, are you sure you don't want to follow in your father's footsteps?"

"And take the worst job in the world, no thanks dad."

"Well, I'll let them know I have a plus one," said Olivia as she tried to rub it into Fitz's face a little more.

"Okay Gerr, let's get to the lab room for a final x-ray."

She led the way to the lab room with the waiting x-ray technician who performed Gerry's x ray and then she took them back to Stephen's office as she waited for the results, it was Stephen's day off and she was glad to have the office to herself.

"So Gerry, walk me through and tell me how it happened?"

Gerry cleared his throat before he began.

"I mean, I woke up and I reached for my crutches and stood up and as I was hopping to the bathroom, I felt silly, like I didn't need them anymore so I dropped one of the crutches and stood up straight and walked and then when I didn't fall, I dropped the other one and walked normally and then I was like 'wow I probably should have done this last week,'."

Olivia chuckled.

"It's good that you didn't rush it."

"Yep just in time for summer but unfortunately I'll be in California all summer thanks to dad."

"Gerry, you know your mother gets you on holidays."

"I know but I'm not a kid anymore, I should be able to choose, nothing against mom but I really don't wanna spend the entire summer with her rich beverly hills house wife friends and their loser children, I'd rather be in Martha's Vineyard with Kenna and my other friends, they all have summer jobs there."

"I'm fine with you going to martha's vineyard but your mom isn't, you'll be 18 soon and then you don't have to listen to either of us."

"You're not the problem dad."

Olivia found it fascinating watching them go back and forth until one of the nurses knocked the door and interrupted them. Olivia went and got the result from her and then glanced of over them briefly.

"Well like I expected, you're good, great actually, everything is perfectly in alignment, like nothing ever happened, all the bruising is gone."

"Great so I can go back to playing sports and stuff?"

"Woah, Gerry, not to fast," Fitz was quick to say.

"Light exercise for now, if you plan on playing football again you can do so in the fall."

"I sure will."

"Really, and what if you break your back again?"

Gerry chuckled.

"Dad, no one breaks their back twice in life, I'll be fine."

Fitz decided to not to push it any further and let him enjoy the good news for now. Olivia could see that he was uneasy but she didn't comment.

"Gerry, you should probably get regular massages, to loosen you up, by your posture I can tell that you're trapezius and splenius capitis are tense."

"My what?"

"Sorry, your upper back muscles."

"You see Liv, this is why I need to come to your lecture," Gerry said with a smile.

She smiled.

"You guys are good to go, this is the last back related check up you'll need."

"So everything is back to normal now?" Gerry asked.

"Yep."

"Great, thank you Liv, for everything."

"You can thank me by naming your first daughter Olivia."

"I do?"

"Gerry, I'm kidding."

He chuckled.

"You kid about the weirdest things Liv."

"What can I say, I'm weird."

5 Days later.

Fitz stood outside of Olivia's door, waiting for her to answer. He had a key but for the purpose of his question, he wanted her to answer the door. He heard the patter of her footsteps walk up to the door and then she opened it.

"Fitz, I gave you a key for a reason you know and aren't you suppose to have left for the G7 meeting?"

"I was, but I needed to ask you something first?"

She looked at him skeptically.

"Something you couldn't text me or call me about?"

"It wouldn't be gentlemanly to call you about this."

"Okay come inside."

"Nope, I'll stay right here."

"Fitz you're being weird and what if someone sees you."

"Can I ask my question?"

She sighed.

"Fine."

"Olivia Pope, would you allow me the honor of taking you out on a date?"

She was surprised, that was the last thing she expected. She was frozen for a moment then she answered.

"Yes, I'll allow you the honor of taking me out on a date," she said with a smile, her cheeks were burning red.

"Yes!" he said with a fist pump, "and you'll be fine here with me gone right?"

"Fitz you went on about this for three days, I'll be fine."

"Yeah but are you sure."

"Fitz!"

"Okay sorry."

She chuckled.

"When?"

"Friday, when I get back. I'll pick you up at 8pm sharp."

"Where do you plan to take me?"

"It's a surprise but don't eat anything because I'll be feeding you. I have to run, I was supposed to have left an hour ago."

He kissed her and hurried down the hallway.

"What should I wear?" she yelled down the hallway.

"Something tight," he yelled back.

She laughed and closed the door before anyone could open their door to look.

Seconds later she heard another knock and checked, it was him again. She opened the door and shook her head.

"What now?"

He smiled and reached in his pocket and pulled out a credit card.

"I almost forgot, buy something to wear, if you want."

He hurried off again.

She looked down at the card, it was a black Amex with her name on it. She knew he just wanted an excuse to give her, her own credit card and in usual Fitzgerald fashion, it was an unlimited card.

Olivia was beyond excited about their date, she had only two days to prepare and she had every intention of blowing him away when he came to pick her up. He didn't give her much details so she didn't have anything to work with but knowing Fitz , he was going to go all out.

In the morning after Fitz left, she woke up and showered and got ready for her day.

She held off the urge to call Abby in the night and even in the morning she was still seriously considering not telling her. Even though Abby was mostly okay with their relationship she was still a little bitter about that fact that she left New York for Fitz and she really didn't have the patience for any negative commentary because she was sure Abby would go out of her way to find some.

She made a pot of coffee and headed to her closet to see if she could find anything to wear on Friday. She stood in the middle of her closet and she didn't know where to start so she broke her resolve so she dialed Abby and waited for her to answer.

"Morning Liv, what's up?"

"I need a dress for a date, I thought about about buying a new one but I want to go through my closet first?"

"A date, with who?"

Olivia rolled her eyes.

"Who do you think?"

The line was silent for a while.

"Abby?"

"Oh my god, I'm so excited."

"I didn't expect that, I thought you'd have something smart to say."

"Like what?"

"I don't know but uhm what do you think I should wear?"

"First, where are you going?"

"He didn't tell me, he said he's going to feed me though but I don't think it's just dinner."

"What about the that Prada dress, the red one?"

"No, too short."

"Uhm okay, what about the Herve ledger, that white one?"

"Too sexy."

"Oh I know, what about the Balmain?"

"Too gauche. Abby, I need something perfect."

"So then buy something."

"He did give me a credit card with my name on it."

"What, and you aren't freaking in Barney's right now buying the entire fucking store?"

"I don't want him to think I'm just with him for his money, I'll buy my own stuff."

"Sometimes I just wanna punch you in the face, he gave you an unlimited credit card with your name on it, he wants you to use it so use it."

"You know what you're right, I don't know why I'm being weird. I'm gonna head to Barney's, I'll call you if I find something I like."

"Okay, promise?"

"I promise."

Olivia hung up and grabbed her bag and shoes and headed to her car followed by her agents. Most of the time, she had no idea where they hid out until she left the house but they were always close by.

She made her way to Barney's in search of the perfect dress. As soon as she entered the store a personal shopper walked up to her and greeted her.

"Good afternoon, how can I help you?" the woman said politely.

"Hi, I need a dress."

"I can take you to the dress floor and we can look around."

"Perfect, thank you."

As they walked to the elevator, she shopper asked her more questions about what she was looking for.

"What kind of dress are we thinking of?"

"Something classic, sexy but in a subtle way."

"What's your budget?"

"I don't have one."

"What's the event?"

"A date, I don't know the details though."

"Okay, color, style of the dress, any more details?"

"Something fitted, color wise maybe black or white, it can be sleeveless, in fact I think I'd prefer that."

"Okay, I have a few things in mind, I'm sorry what's your name, I didn't catch it?"

"Olivia, and yours?"

"I'm Kate, Olivia is such a pretty name."

"Thank you."

Kate walked her up to the styling suite and gave her a room.

"You can stay in the suite while I pull some dress for you or you can walk and pull with me if you'd like?"

"I think I'll walk with you."

"Okay, perfect, follow me."

"Can I leave my purse in the fitting room?"

"Absolutely."

"Okay."

Olivia dropped her purse in her room and closed the door and then followed Kate to the sales floor.

They walked around for a half hour pulling a variety of dress to try and then went back to the suite to try them all.

"I'm gonna hang around outside, just call me if you need help zipping up or anything, I'll be right out the door."

"You can stay in here if you want."

"Oh okay."

Kate walked into the fitting room behind her and closed the door. Olivia striped down to her underwear.

"Try the Armani first," Kate suggested as she took the dress off the rack.

Olivia nodded and took the dress from Kate and tried it on and then looked herself over in the mirror.

"I don't like this one, not sexy enough."

"Okay, let's put that in the 'no' pile."

Olivia took the dress off and handed it to Kate.

"Try the Cushnie et Och."

Olivia tried the white Cushnie dress and stared herself over in the mirror.

"Too sexy, way too sexy."

"You look hot, I love it."

"I do look hot, don't I," Olivia chuckled, "I love it but not for this date, I might buy it regardless though."

It was white and sleeveless and though it showed no cleavage, it had a very high leg slit and it was very short even for Olivia's height.

"What size is that dress?" Kate asked.

Olivia checked the tag under her arm.

"It's a 2."

"Its can be taken in a little under the arms and around the waist but it fits perfectly at the breast and butt."

"Yeah my size is a little weird, my butt and breasts are bigger but my waist is a 0. I have to have everything altered."

"We can call the seamstress over to alter whatever dress you go with."

"Great."

Olivia took the dress off and tried on of the dress she picked for herself. A black off the shoulder marchesa number with pretty black feather detail around the shoulder, it was fitted and stopped below her knees, longer than it was intended to because she was short but she loved it.

"This is the one, I need it shorter though, just below the knee and it's big around the waist but this is the one, it's perfect."

"I agree, it's gorgeous on you."

Olivia spun around in the the mirror.

"My butt looks great, this is definitely the one."

"I'm going to call the seamstress to have her take a look and see what she can alter."

"Thanks."

Kate left the room briefly to call the seamstress and Olivia pulled out her phone and facetimed Abby.

"Lucretia, I found the perfect dress."

"Don't call me that and flip the camera so I can see."

Olivia chuckled and flipped the camera and stood in front of the mirror.

"Jesus, that's nice, which dress is that?"

"Marchesa, isn't it pretty, I love it so much."

Kate knocked the door and walked in.

"The seamstress in on her way."

"Thanks."

"How much is it?" Abby asked.

Olivia checked for the price tag but she couldn't find it.

"Kate can you check if the price tag is in the back please."

"No problem."

Kate checked the tag at the back of the dress.

"It's $3995."

"Okay, I wonder if I should get shoes too," Olivia wondered aloud.

"I feel like you have shoes that can go with this," Abby said through the phone.

"Abby, I'm treating myself."

Abby chuckled.

"I hear that hot stuff."

The seamstress knocked on the door and Kate let her in.

"Hi, this is Elena," Kate said.

"What do you like me to do," the woman said in a very thick Russian accent.

"I need it shorter and tighter at the waist and thigh, I want it to fit like a glove."

"Okay, I fix for you."

Olivia held her arms up as the seamstress pinned her dress up accordingly.

"I need it by Friday morning, is that okay?"

"No, three days," the seamstress replied.

"No please, I'll pay you anything to get it ready by Friday, I absolutely need it by Friday."

"Okay, Friday afternoon, 3 o'clock, extra charge for you."

Olivia could tell she was going to try and hustle her.

"Perfect, as long as I get it in time."

After the fitting, Kate took Olivia to the shoes department and she bought a pair of black Giuseppe Zanotti swarovski crystal heels. She picked up a couple midi rings from Cartier and brought everything back to the suite to check out and then headed home.

Throughout the day, Fitz called her at the oddest times and whenever she tried to wrestle a few details out of him, he hung up.

The next morning, she made an appointment at the hair salon for a blowout and then scheduled for one of the hairstylist to come by her apartment to style her hair on Friday afternoon. After spending the entire morning at the salon, she went to the spa in the afternoon for manicure, pedicure and facial then headed home in the night.

She tried calling Fitz before she went to bed but she was sure he was on his way back to the states and he was most likely sleeping on the plane so she called it a night and went to sleep excited about their first date.


	40. Chapter 40

When Fitz landed on the South Lawn in marine one in the early morning, he headed straight to the residence to shower and take a nap for a few hours and woke up around noon to head to the oval office to see what work need to be done. Gerry's last day of school was Wednesday and he left for California on Wednesday night to spend his summer vacation with Mellie.

As Fitz sat in the oval, reading state department briefing packets on Iraq and Afghanistan's latest shenanigans, Cyrus strutted into the room.

"Fitz please go on the date we planned for you."

"No, I already made up my mind Cy."

"You're going to try and pass small business legislation in a couple weeks, I think it's better to have dinner at a small business restaurant where the press can see you instead of your private boat."

"What kind of restaurant is it?"

"I don't remember, I can ask Ethan."

"Is the food good?"

"I don't know."

"Okay, I'm not going, I told you if it wasn't good enough, I wasn't going to take her there so I'm not taking her there."

Cyrus sighed exasperatedly.

"Should I send hair and makeup over to make sure she looks appropriate for the camera?"

"She has great taste Cyrus, I'm sure she'll look fine."

"It's your first date after your divorce, the media is going to be wall to wall with picture of you two for a week."

"Cyrus, just calm down, it's going to be fine."

"I'm going to tip the press off at around 7:30, they should be at her apartment by then."

"Cyrus I'd rather you didn't do that."

"Fitz, you know we have to."

"I don't want them hounding her and shouting awkward questions at her and making her uncomfortable, they'll find out about the date and I'm sure they'll get a few pictures and that will have to be enough. I just want her to have a good time Cyrus, I'm sure you'd want the same for James if you were in my position."

"Fine, fine, fine, I'll let the press know after you've left so they won't have that much time to gather outside, I'll send only the friendly reporters and make sure no one shouts anything at her and they'll get a few pictures when you guys walk out and then they'll get some when you drop her back, how does that sound?"

"Good, I can work with that."

Around 2pm, Olivia headed to Barneys to pick up her dress for the date. She went to the suite and found Kate, who set her up in a room once again and went to call the seamstress to fit the dress.

Olivia dropped her purse and stripped anxiously waiting for the dress to arrive. Moments later, Kate returned with the seamstress.

"Hello Olivia, we've got your dress."

Olivia smiled and clapped her hands excitedly.

"I'm so excited to try it on."

The seamstress carefully pulled it out of the garment bag and unzipped it and held it out for Olivia to step into it then she zipped it up for her.

Olivia walked in front of the mirror and stared at her reflection.

"It's perfect, exactly how I wanted it, thank you Elena," she said kindly.

Elena smiled.

"See, I told you, I fix for you."

Olivia chuckled.

"Yes, you did it perfectly."

Olivia walked around in the dress just to see how it felt to move in it and then she asked Kate to help her zip it down.

Once she was out of the dress, she pulled on her yoga leggings and t shirt and then took two hard $50 bills out of her purse and handed one to Elena and one to Kate.

"Thanks for all your help ladies."

Elena grabbed her face and kissed her cheek and she almost jumped back but she was able to maintain her composure.

"Thank you very much," Elena said appreciatively as she hurried out the room.

Kate chuckled at the exchange.

"Thank you, it was really nice working with you and if you ever need anything, just call me."

"I will, I promise."

She took Olivia's dress and placed it back in the garment bag and then put it on a shopping bag. Olivia thanked her again before she grabbed her purse and headed back to her apartment.

As she walked down the hall on her floor, her phone rang. She checked the caller id and it was the hairstylist that was scheduled to come to her apartment at 6pm.

"Hello, Carson?"

"Hello Olivia, I was just calling to confirm my appointment at 6."

Olivia breathed a sigh of relief, she thought he was calling to cancel.

"Oh perfect."

"I also have a partner who is a makeup artist so if you need makeup services we can provide that as well."

"Oh yeah, that's sound great."

"Perfect, I'll let him know, we'll be there at 6pm sharp."

"Thank you, I look forward to seeing you."

Olivia hung up and opened her apartment door and immediate hung her dress up in her closet. It was 3:30 in the afternoon and she had a little time to kill so she grabbed her laptop and finished working on her lecture.

As she was writing, her phone rang, it was Fitz.

"What's up?" she answered.

"Nothing, just called to make sure you weren't gonna stand me up tonight."

"I wouldn't dare."

"Good, what you are doing?"

"Working on my lecture, you?"

"You have to work on that, won't you just remember her everything you have to say?"

"It doesn't work like that Fitz, my stem research dossier is 15,274 pages long, if I don't condense that, I'll ramble on for hours and confuse those poor kids."

He chuckled.

"Good point."

She was quiet for a while then she decided to try asking him for details once more, she was a little nervous that she might be over or under dressed for whatever he planned.

"Fitz, just please tell me where we're going?"

"What's that, I'm breaking up, come again?"

She knew he was about to hang up.

"At least tell me what you're wearing so I know."

"I can't hear you, I'll see you at 8."

He hung up.

Olivia laughed and threw her phone on the couch, she didn't know why she even bothered asking.

She continued working on her lecture until around 5:30pm, then she went to shower and when she finished she put on her underwear and a silk robe and waited for Carson to show up.

He was exactly on time, ringing her doorbell at 6pm sharp. When she opened the door, Carson; who was a rather short man was accompanied by an even shorter man.

"Hi," she said as she opened the door to let them in with their cosmetic suitcases.

"Hi, you already know I'm Carson, this is my boyfriend Tucker."

"Hey guys, come on in, make yourself at home, can I get you anything to drink?"

"No, we're good, we just had lunch."

"Okay, well I have a vanity mirror, you know, the one with the light bulbs all around it, in my closet, I think that's the best place to do this."

"That's perfect."

"Okay, follow me."

She led them to her closet and left them to set up while she finished oiling her body and then she went back to see if they were ready.

"Are you guys all set?" she asked.

"Yes," said Carson.

Olivia took a seat in the chair and waited for them to begin.

"What kind of dress are you wearing?" Carson asked.

Olivia got up quickly and walked over the garment bag hanging on the wall. She unzipped the bag and revealed her dress.

"Yes girl, that dress is fierce!" Tucker blurted out.

Olivia chuckled.

"I know, I love it so much."

"With a dress like this you need to show off the detail, I'm think we can give you some loose curls and wrap it up and we'll leave a few curly strands hanging down to frame your face, how does that sound?" asked Carson.

"It's sounds perfect."

"And I'm thinking, a matte red lip, with a soft dewy look and long lashes and some highlight for those Naomi Campbell cheeks honey, we'll add a little natural shimmery eyeshadow but I want to keep the look light and clean, your lipstick is the statement, it's gonna make men fall over themselves when they see you."

"I only want one man to fall over himself," Olivia said playfully.

"I hear that," said Tucker.

"Jewelry, what about jewelry?"

"Diamonds earrings, bracelet and rings," Olivia responded.

"Perfect, you don't need anything at the neck," said Carson.

Olivia sat as they worked on her for almost an hour and a half but when they were done she looked in the mirror and she was impressed.

"Wow, I think I'm gonna keep you guys on retainer."

The both laughed loudly.

"No, I'm serious," she said laughing.

She check herself out in the mirror for a little while and then she got up and gave them space to pack their things.

She realized she only had a half hour until Fitz came so she quickly took of her robe and grabbed her dress from the hanger. Once she had it on, Tucker helped her zip it up. Then she put on her diamond earrings and the diamond bracelet Fitz got her.

"Cash or check?" she asked.

"Cash," the both said in unison.

Olivia chuckled and reached into her purse for the cash and paid them both with a generous tip for which they thanked her profusely.

"I'm serious, I'm using you guys every time."

"Please do," they said laughing.

She strapped on her heels and then faced both Carson and Tucker.

"One last question, if you weren't gay would-"

"We do you, absolutely," answered Tucker.

She laughed.

"Perfect."

After 10 minutes, they were heading out the door with their suitcases full of makeup and curling irons.

"Thank you guys so much."

"Thank you, we can't wait to work with you again," said Tucker.

"Yes, don't hesitate to call," said Carson.

"I won't."

She gave them both a kiss on the cheek and closed the door after they left.

She went back to her closet and finished putting on her jewelry and then she grabbed her clutch. She checked the time, it was 7:55 and she began to get anxious so he went back to the mirror to check her hair and makeup as she waited.

The presidential motorcade pulled up to the front of Olivia's building and Fitz stepped out holding a bouquet of roses and a small Hermes gift bag. The press was ready and waiting and snapped thousands of picture as he made his way into her building lobby. As he headed to the elevator he could see the mouths of the people in the building lobby falling open as they realized it was him. He took the evaluator up to her floor and then checked his watch, it was 7:59, he was right on time. At 8pm sharp, he rang her doorbell and waited.

He heard the click of her dainty heels coming his way and he couldn't control the excitement that came over him. Second later she opened the door, he took one look at her and then pretended to faint.

"Fitz!" she shouted as she grabbed his arm.

He stood straight and smiled, so did Tom who was right by his side.

"I'm sorry, you just knocked me out," he said with a smile.

She rolled her eyes playfully and laughed.

"You are so silly."

"You seriously look so beautiful, I'm still processing it."

She blushed.

Fitz looked down and remembered brought her roses and a gift.

"These are for you."

"Wow, thank you," she said as she took the roses and gift, "you look very handsome."

Fitz was wearing a black, slim fitted Dolce and Gabbana suit that could pass as a tuxedo and a pair of sleek Christian Louboutin black suede loafers.

"I'm just trying to look acceptable enough to be your date."

She smiled and opened the Hermes bag and pulled out a silk scarf and bracelet.

"Wow, you got me an Hermes scarf and a bracelet, Fitz I'm gonna get robbed."

He chuckled.

"I love them, I'm gonna put these beautiful roses in water and I won't give you grief about the gift tonight because you look so cute but any other time I'll complain."

"I expect nothing less," he said with a smile.

She quickly put the roses in water and then headed back to the door.

"Fitz are you sure I'm not over dressed or under dressed?"

"You're perfect, come on, let's go."

He held her hand and tugged her out the door. She closed the door and followed as he led her to the elevator and down to the lobby. As the neared the entrance of the build Olivia saw the reporters and gripped on to Fitz's hand a little tighter. He stopped just before they walked out.

"We can go through the back?"

She smiled.

"No, let's do this."

Fitz smiled.

"You look beautiful."

"Thank you."

Tom held the door open for them and once the press realized the were about to exit the building the cameras began flashing. Once again Fitz led the way as they walked outside. She expected embarrassing questions but there were none.

"Olivia!"

"Olivia Pope!"

"Olivia, look at me Olivia!"

"Mr. President!"

"President Grant!"

Olivia felt the urge to hide her face but didn't. Fitz held onto her hand and walked slightly ahead to hold the door open for her. He helped her into the car then got in as well and they sped off in the presidential motorcade.

Once they were away from the press, Olivia relaxed and threw her leg over Fitz's leg.

"So can you tell me where we're going now?"

"No, we'll be there soon."

"Just one clue."

He took her hand and kissed it.

"No."

"Fine," she was with a pout then she smiled.

She tried staring through the window to get a clue as to where they were going but there was none until about 20 minutes later when they pulled up to the marina.

When Fitz helped her out of the car, she looked around and saw a bunch of seafood restaurants so she figured that was where they were going but Fitz took her in the opposite direction, to the moorings.

"Where are we going?" she asked excitedly.

"You'll see."

As they walked further out on the boardwalk, they passed a variety of sailboats and yachts, he walked to the end of the dock and stopped at the largest yacht.

"Welcome to the Queen Selene of the sea."

She looked at him and smiled.

"This is your boat?"

He smiled and helped her into the boat and up the steps to the higher deck. As they made their to the front of the ship, she heard live music. Once they got to the hull of the ship, Olivia's mouth fell open.

There was a table set for two with red rose petals and candles everywhere. There was a live band, with the male and female lead singer, the man was singing 'the way you look tonight" by Frank Sinatra. By the table stood two waiters and a sommelier dressed in uniform.

"Too much?" Fitz asked.

She smiled.

"It is too much but that's what makes it so perfect."

Fitz gave himself a mental pat on the back and then took her over to the table, he held out her chair and waited as she took a seat then he sat as well.

"Wine for the lady?" the sommelier asked.

"Yes, thank you."

The sommelier poured the wine in her glass and Fitz's as well.

"This is a 1999 bottle of Domaine Leroy Musigny. Coche-Dury is best known for its white wines, but Domaine Leroy is best known for red. The Grand Cru vineyard of Musigny is arguably the best plot for Pinot Noir in all of Burgundy, and this wine is liquid power and finesse in a bottle," he said with a smile, "have a taste."

Olivia smiled and took a sip of the wine.

"Wow, that is really good."

The Sommelier smiled.

"My name is Jean, I'll be in the bay just give me a call if you need another glass, enjoy your night."

"Thank you Jean."

Olivia took another sip of her wine then the chef came up from the lower deck.

"Dinner will be served momentarily, the appetizer tonight is Wagyu Steak Tartare: hand cut Kobe style beef prepared tableside with quail egg, Cognac gelee, traditional garnish with toast points and it will be followed by the main course: Poached, fresh Nova Scotia lobster, celery root puree, sweet & sour butternut squash with brussel sprout leaves and the caviar service will be Tsar Imperial Ossetra imported from Italy, each served with traditional garniture. Dessert will be my specialty Pistachio Semifreddo and my chocolate brooklyn bridge sculpture served with milk chocolate marquise, raspberry sorbet, vanilla ice cream, crisp meringue and drizzled with dark chocolate glaze."

Olivia smiled.

"Thank you, I can't wait to taste it all."

The chef smiled and nodded politely and then headed back to the lower deck followed the the waiters. Olivia was about to say something to Fitz when the captain came from the upper deck.

"Sir, we will leave the marina momentarily."

"Thank you Randy."

He nodded and left.

"Queen Selene, did you name the boat?"

He chuckled.

"No, Gerry did, a few years ago when I was having it built, I took him to see it, he had a crush on a girl name Selene when he was in 3rd grade, so he named the boat Queen Selene and he said he was going to sail the ocean with her, unfortunately we found out Selene had a boyfriend so that never happened and I had already painted the name on the boat so I couldn't change it."

She chuckled.

"Gerry is such a romantic, sort of like his father I guess."

"Well he didn't just get his looks from me you know."

She heard footstep approaching them and then the waiters appeared with their appetizer. They placed the food on the table and then made themselves scarce.

"This looks so good," she said as she spread the napkin across her lap.

"Yes, Chef Gustav is very good, I'm surprised I got him on such short notice, I'm sure he stiffed a couple people to come here."

Olivia tasted her appetizer and smiled.

"Fitz this is amazing."

Fitz laughed and tasted his as well.

"I concur," he said with a smile.

As the waiters, served them course after course, Olivia fawned over how good the food was, she was careful not to eat too much because she didn't want to get full and feel lethargic. After the main course, the chef personally brought them the desert, which was a beautiful sculpture of the Brooklyn bridge that was made from chocolate with garnishings on the side. As soon as the chef left, Olivia broke a piece of the chocolate bridge and fed it to Fitz.

"Now, take a sip of the wine and tell me how it tastes."

He took a sip of the wine and smiled.

"That's pretty good."

"Pinot noir and milk chocolate together is like the 8th wonder of the world."

He backed out of the chair and stood up then walked around to her side of the table and took her hand.

"Come on, let's go to the railing," he suggested as he helped her out her chair.

He walked her to the front rail so they could look out at the horizon. The moon was perfectly full and at it's apex. The music was low and sensual and the waiters and sommelier left to give them privacy.

As walked her up to the rail, he could see the goosebumps on her arms and without asking, he took his jacket off and held it out for her to put on. She smiled and pushed her arms through the sleeve and then turned and faced the ocean. Fitz wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek as they looked up at the moon and stars and listened to the music.

She turned around and faced him.

"Thank you for a perfect night, it's times like this that I like not being able to forget anything because I never want to forget just how perfect this was."

He caressed her cheek and looked into her eyes, they sparkled in the moonlight.

"I didn't think it was possible to love someone as much as I love you, I worry about you more than I worry about myself, I think about you more than I think about myself, it's almost a burden and I don't mean that in a bad way, it's one I'm honored to carry."

She turned her face away.

"Fitz stop, you're gonna make me cry and ruin my make up," she said shyly as if her eyes weren't already filled with tears.

"I'm sorry, I just need you to understand how much you mean to me. You and my son are the only two people I need in this world."

She held his cheeks and kissed him softly on the lips.

"I love you too, you mean the world to me too. Always and forever right?"

She held out her little finger for a pinky swear. Fitz smiled and wrapped his little finger around hers to complete to promise and them gave her a peck on the lips.

"Right."

She smiled and turned around to face the ocean once again.

"It's such a beautiful night, did you know it was going to be a full moon tonight?"

"Of course, I can't take you on a night sail without a perfectly full moon in the sky Liv, I'm not an ammateur."

She laughed.

"You don't miss a beat, do you?"

She heard someone clear their throat and they both turned around, it was the captain.

"Sir, we'll be sailing back to the marina momentarily."

"Can we stay out here a little longer?" Olivia asked.

"Sure," said Fitz, "Randy give us some time, we'll let you know when we're ready."

"No problem," he said with a nodd and then left.

As they stood out on the deck, Fitz remembered Olivia had mentioned she needed to talk to him about some things.

"Remember when you said you wanted to talk? What was it about?"

She smiled.

"Yeah, I'm looking around for lab in the area, there's one that I like at AHR biospace research facility in downtown but there's a waitlist which sucks. I'm gonna take a 'break' from any doctor related work right now and I think I wanna go back to doing research, I have a lot of lab equipment at my office in New York, I'm going to move it here so I can use it and that's what I'm going to be doing for the foreseeable future."

Fitz smiled.

"So no travelling around the country and being gone for days at a time to perform surgeries?"

"No, but I am going to hand my Pope Procedure dossier over the the scientific research center, without the particle accelerator they won't be able to replicate it but I'm sure the information will be very helpful."

"Good, so your gonna go back to the drawing board and create something new."

"Ideally, hopefully whatever I come up with will be easier to perform with less equipment."

"I think that's perfect, I'm gonna see if I can get you past the waitlist for that lab downtown."

"You will, thank you," she said with a smile.

They hung out for another hour and then they let the captain know that they were ready. When they docked at the marina, Fitz helped her out of the boat and down the moorings into the car, she laid on his chest with his arm wrapped around her for the entire ride back. When they pulled up to her apartment, the press was crazier than before and as soon as Fitz helped her out the car, they began screaming both their names once again. He held her hand proudly as they walked through the crowd of reporters and paparazzi into the building.

When they arrived at her apartment, she took his jacket off and handed it back to him.

"I'm gonna add some more agents to your detail to deal with the press."

"Okay," she said with a smile as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

She puckered her lips for a kiss and Fitz happily obliged.

"Did I mention how beautiful you look tonight?"

She blushed.

"Only every 20 minutes."

"Did I mention that his dress looks like it was made for you, your ass looks great."

"I said the same thing in the mirror when I tried it on."

He laughed and picked her up and spun her around, kissed her, then gently eased her down to the ground.

"Call me when you get home okay."

"Okay," he said with a smile.

She walked him to the door and gave him another kiss before opening the door.

"Goodnight," he said as he walked into the hallway.

"Goodnight," she replied.

He was about to walk away when she stopped him.

"Wait," she stepped closer and inspected his face, " you're good, I thought you might have had lipstick on your lip but I guess this matte stuff really doesn't come off."

He stood staring at her for a moment and she wondered if something was wrong.

"What's wrong?"

"You know everything changes now right?"

She smiled and took a deep breath.

"I know."

Fitz nodded and smiled.

"Don't go to sleep, I'm going to call you."

"I won't."

She watched him as he headed down the hall and disappeared into the elevator and then she closed her apartment down and took her phone out of her clutch and turned it on. She's turned it off because she didn't want to be disturbed during the date. She had 140 missed calls, 97 voice messages, 86 text messages and more were still coming in. She turned the volume on her phone down and went to get ready for bed as she waited for Fitz's call.


	41. Chapter 41

When Olivia woke up in the morning and checked her phone, she had thousands of calls. She guessed that someone must have leaked her cell number because even as she looked down at her phone screen calls were still coming in although they were being automatically sent to voicemail because she put her phone on do not disturb.

She got up and washed her face and brushed her teeth and then went to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. Once she was done she headed to the couch and as she sat drinking her coffee, she called her phone company and changed her cell number and then texted the new number to Abby, Harrison, Stephen, Huck and called Fitz. He picked up the line but didn't say a word.

"Fitz?"

She heard a small chuckle.

"Liv, I'm sorry, I didn't recognize the number."

"Yeah, I think someone leaked my number because between last night and this morning I got thousands of call from unknown numbers from all over the country, I just called my cell company and changed my number."

"I'm really sorry."

"It's okay, it's not a big deal. Where are you?"

"I'm in the residence getting dressed, I'm going golfing with a few senators."

"That's sounds like fun."

"Yeah I golf with a 4 handicap so it won't be fun for them but it will be for me."

"Show off, you're gonna look so cute in your golf outfit."

Fitz chuckled.

"What are you gonna be doing today?"

"Nothing much, hanging around the apartment to finish up some things, I also have to clean."

"I don't know why you don't hire someone to clean it for you?"

"I like cleaning, everyone I hire doesn't do clean my apartment the way I like it."

"Are you going outside?" he asked.

"No."

"Do you wanna come golfing with me?"

Olivia pondered for a moment.

"I can't golf."

"I could teach you."

"No, I'm sure you wanna have fun with your fellow lawmakers, we can go some other time."

"Okay, after golf I'm gonna stop by later in the night."

Olivia smiled.

"Please do, I need a good, hard dicking."

"Shit, now I'm gonna be thinking about that all day."

She chuckled.

"That was the point. I'll see you later, byee."

She hung up before he could reply and as soon as she hung up, she saw a few missed calls from Abby so she called her back.

"Olivia why the hell didn't you call me last night after the date," she yelled through the phone.

"Sorry, I turned off my phone, someone must have leaked my number because my phone was ringing off the hook, I just changed it."

Abby chuckled.

"You've been trending in Twitter since last night."

"Oh no, I've been staying away from news and social media, I don't want to see what they're saying."

"That's really all everyone's been talking about, you looked freaking hot by the way, like I can't even stand it, you guys looked so good together."

Olivia smiled.

"Thank you."

"So, how was the date, I want all the details from start to finish."

Olivia got comfortable on the couch because she knew it was going to be a while.

"Oh my god Abby, it was so perfect."

Abby squealed.

"Yayy!"

"Okay, so he came to pick me up at 8, he brought me roses and a gift from Hermes and then he took me dow-"

"Wait what was it like with all the press in your face?"

"They were really well behaved and they didn't shout anything awkward so that was good, now that I think about it he might have done that too."

"Where did you he take you?"

"He took me to his boat, it was so perfect, when he took up on the deck there was a live band, more like a freaking orchestra with a male and female lead singer, they guy was singing a whole bunch of Frank Sinatra songs, the woman sang Jane Birkin and Brigitte Bardot songs, you know those songs that make you feel all nostalgic, cruise music sort of, it was beautiful."

"Wow."

"I know and then there was a table set for us, there were roses and little candles everywhere, there were two waiters, a sommelier and a chef. The food was amazing, I mean otherworldly. We sailed out to the bay as we ate and then after dinner he took me up to the railing, the moon was full and we looked up at the stars and listened to the music, he told me how much I meant to him, how much he loved me it was the most romantic date ever."

"You just gave me the feels listening to a date I wasn't even there to see."

Olivia chuckled.

"Yeah it was perfect, at one point he sang 'moonlight serenade' to me and it took everything in me not to strip right in front of him."

Abby laughed.

"So when are you guys going out again?"

"I don't know, he's going golfing today, he invited me but I'd rather he enjoyed himself."

"Oh okay, Kamaya and Elliot are going crazy, they were completely caught off guard."

"Oh lord."

"Don't worry though, I talk to them and told them to calm down and take it easy on you."

"Thanks."

"So, what are you gonna do about all the media drama."

"Honestly, I'm not sure, I don't know how crazy they'll get so I'm just gonna lay low and see. Who knows maybe it'll die down after a couple days."

"Olivia there is press outside of our building, this will not die down after a few days, people have been calling me and Harrison, do you even know what the front of your building looks like, because it's live on the news right now, there are a lot of people out there."

"They've been calling you?"

"Yeah, asking me what kind of person you are and how long we've been friends, I have no idea how they got my number."

"Did you say anything?"

"Yeah I told them to eat my ass."

Olivia laughed and headed to the kitchen to put her coffee cup in the sink.

"Thanks, If I'm being honest, I'm not really sure what to do. Fitz told me it'd bad, I'm just waiting to see how bad."

"Yeah but you can't hide out in your apartment forever."

"I know, I'm not trying to, if I need to go outside I'll go but I'm not exactly excited to face them."

"I guess that's reasonable and the good thing is that's it's the weekend, all the regular news pundits aren't on till Monday."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Wait-Olivia are you wearing a gray shirt that says 'navy' and and black knee high socks right now?"

"What?"

"You're live right now on TMZ, someone is recording you right now, close the kitchen curtain."

Olivia turned around and looked through the window and saw a drone hovering outside her window. She quickly closed the window and then went around the apartment and closed all her drapes, blinds and windows.

"Liv, did you get them all?"

"Yeah, I can't believe they just did that."

Olivia took a deep breath.

"Abbs, I'm gonna go now, I'll call you later."

"Okay, you sure you're okay."

"Yeah I'm fine, just annoyed."

"Okay, call me later."

* * *

As Fitz got out of his SUV in the parking lot of the Meridian golf club his cell rang, it was Gerry.

"Hello Gerry, what's up?"

"Dad mom's pissed, she's going crazy over here."

"Crazy how?"

"Crazy like she's been cursing you out all morning and Olivia too, to her friends and stuff. She's talking about doing interviews and stuff."

Fitz chuckled.

"She's not crazy enough to do an interview and she'll get over it."

"So, how was the date?"

"It was great, better than great even."

"Did you tell Olivia how the boat got its name?"

"Of course I did and she loved it."

"Mr. President, ready to hit the slope?" One of the senators yelled.

"Is that senator Litten?"

"Yeah."

"You need to pass a bill don't you?"

Fitz laughed.

"Yeah, next week and I need to schmooze them."

"Okay, I'll leave you to it."

"Okay I'll talk to you later."

Fitz hung up and headed to the course.

* * *

Later in the night, when Olivia knew Fitz was on his way, she called him.

"Fitz, where are you?"

"I'm on 12th, I'm 5 minutes away."

"You didn't take the motorcade did you?"

"Uhm, no, I took three cars like I usually do. Is something wrong?"

"No, I just don't want the press to see you."

"Don't worry, I'm being careful, I'll be here in a few and we can talk."

"Okay."

Olivia hung up and finished her glass of wine. Fifteen minutes later, Fitz opened the door with key and walked in. She appeared out of nowhere and hugged him and buried her face in his chest.

"Woah," he said with a smile, "what's that for?"

She sighed and looked up at him.

"People have been so annoying today, you have no idea and on top of that TMZ had a drone flying outside my window, what if I was naked, you know how much I like walking around naked."

"They had a drone outside your window?"

"Yes - wait, no one saw you right?"

"No, I was careful, secret service had the side of your apartment blocked off."

"Good."

"Why didn't you call me with the whole drone thing?"

"You were golfing, I didn't want to bother you."

"Liv, come on."

She shrugged.

"I know, I know, I'll bother you next time, I swear."

"It's not a bother."

Fitz slipped off his shoes and walked over to the couch with her and pulled her in his lap as he sat.

She kissed him softly.

"Come on, vent, what's been going on today?"

"Can I vent after we have sex because I really need my vagina licked."

She jumped up and pulled him up, he was grinning from ear to ear, she was serious about getting her dicking. He walked behind her and undressed her as they headed to the bedroom to devour each other. Olivia turned on her stereo to drown out their voices because she knew how loud she could get when she was screaming for Fitz and for the first time she worried that her neighbors might hear them and actually know it was them.

A hour later, as they laid quietly in bed, beat, Fitz decided to bring the conversation up again.

"So, you ready to tell me what happened today?"

"I don't know, it's just a bunch of little things that annoyed me. The drone thing was really the icing on the cake though, Abby says there's press outside my apartment in New York."

"What about your friends, are they talking to the press?"

"No, Abby's says they're calling but she's not talking, I know Harrison or Huck won't, I definitely trust them, others might talk but I won't know for sure, I haven't been online or watched the tv all day so I'm not sure what they're saying."

"But you're okay though right? You don't regret anything?"

"Of course not, not in a million years. I mean you told me they were gonna be bad so it's not like I didn't know."

"Yeah but it's different when they're actually hounding you."

"Yes but I'm sure they'll get tired of me eventually," Olivia paused, "have you watched the news?"

"No, I was at the course for most of the day, then I did some work in the evening then showered and came straight here."

Olivia nodded and then a dirty thought crossed her mind and she decided to change the conversation.

"That thing you did with your tongue earlier…"

Fitz smiled.

"Yeah?"

"I seriously almost had cardiac arrest."

Fitz laughed.

"No, Fitz I'm not laughing, at one point I thought that I might not make it through, that was when I scratched you, sorry not sorry," she said with a chuckle.

"Sorry not sorry? You made me bleed woman."

"And you made me fear for my life, that's actually a crime by the way."

Fitz laughed and kissed her.

"You're a mess."

"Yes but I've got a great ass and you love me right?"

Fitz turned his face in the other direction playfully not answering her question.

She sat up and punched him on the arm.

"Right?"

"Right," he said with his charming smile.

* * *

 **Monday morning.**

Seconds after Fitz walked into his office and took a seat at his desk, Cyrus entered with a folder.

"Oh lord, here we go, lay it on me," Fitz said as he leaned back in his chair.

Cyrus took a seat on the couch and raised his legs on the coffee table.

"#OliviapopeandpresidentGrant has been trending since Friday night, oddly enough '#downwiththeswirl' has also been trending."

"Down with the swirl? What does that mean?"

"According to one of the aides that's what the millennials call interracial dating."

"Oh okay."

"Also '#firstdate' has been trending, along with '#firstgirlfriend", '#blackgirlmagic' and '#popeprocedure'."

Fitz smiled.

"That $4000 dress she wore sold out on in 20 minutes, the shoes sold out in 15."

"I told you she has great taste."

"She sells which is good, how is she dealing with the media attention?"

"Good but she hasn't been online or watched the news so she doesn't know what they are saying."

"Do you know what they're saying, have you watched any news since Friday?"

"Nope, it doesn't matter what they're saying."

Cyrus sighed and pulled a tape recorder out of his pocket, turned up the volume and pressed play.

" _ **President Grant, a man who is supposed to be a Christian and a republican, is parading this- I'm just gonna say it; skank, around like some prize, I'm holding a picture right now, it wasn't even private, it was on this woman's social media page, she's wearing a white string bikini that barely and I mean barely covers her ass and breasts and that's not the only one, there are many, is that the kind of woman we want beside our president, I don't care if she's smart but if she doesn't have morals or class, she has no place in our whitehouse because make no mistake it is our whitehouse, it is the people's whitehouse. This woman is an atheist, a socialist, a damn hippie, not to mention she's involved with the black lives matter terrorist groups. This woman was invited to the White House in 2006, to receive a presidential hero medal and she turned it down and you know why, because she claims she didn't agree with the Iraq war. What does a woman like this want with a this republican president, I know, she sees dollar signs and plenty of them, that's it. I don't know about you but I didn't vote for president Grant in 2008 so he could parade a seductress around; mocking our good, conservative, Christian values and I won't vote for him next November in the general if he doesn't drop this woman immediately."**_

"That's disgusting," Fitz said angrily.

"I know but that was the top conservative radio host in the country and he's not even the worst one," said Cyrus.

"Cyrus I don't know why you're making me listen to that, you know it changes nothing."

"This is going out to your audience-"

"She wore a bikini when she was at the beach or pool, honestly she could have worn it walking down 5th avenue, I don't care, I knew the conservatives weren't going to like her, you knew it too, there is only one reason they have a problem with her and that's because she's black. Do you remember the uproar it cause when they found out I hired a gay chief of staff, how many people wanted me to fire you but I stuck by your side, I didn't even entertain it."

"Fitz, I know this changes nothing but they are the people who vote for you, you have to reach out."

"I'm not reaching out to shit, they can say what they want and I'm gonna keep ignoring it and if they continue I'll call them out on it."

Cyrus nodded and sighed.

"Alright but you're sure no sextapes, no nude pictures, sour exes who will come out and talk about her? Did you even ask her?"

"Cyrus I'm sure you vetted her and found nothing, Tom vetted her and found nothing, I'm done talking about this."

"Believe it or not, I'm on both your sides, if they're acting like this over picture of her in a bikini then I just want to be ahead of anything else that might be out there."

Fitz nodded.

"The prince and princess of Monaco are coming at the end of the month, are you taking her?" Cyrus asked in an effort to change the subject.

"Yes, I didn't ask her yet but yes."

"Your vacation is coming up, are you taking her?"

"Yes."

"Have you decided where you're going?"

"Yeah it's between the island or the cabin in Aspen, I haven't decided yet."

"The optics of you going to your private island aren't great."

"Okay so I'll go to Aspen then."

Cyrus raised his eyebrows.

"Wow, I'm surprised you listened to me."

"I figured every once in awhile won't kill me."

Cyrus stood up and grabbed his folder and brought it to Fitz. Fitz took it and started going through it.

"In order for people to like her they need to see her out. On Wednesday, I planned for you two to go this karaoke restaurant on 18th street, it's local and it's great for your small business initiative, on Thursday, I got two tickets to the new opera show, she's going to need a gown, something fancy, your detail knows, the aides know, there is gonna be press and all the works, a few senators and their wives are also going to be at the opera, so heads up."

"Okay, I begged her to come by today for lunch so I'll let her know."

* * *

Olivia lounged around in her couch. She's finished her lecture, she couldn't exactly hunt for lab spaces anymore until she knew if Fitz was able to get her off the waitlist for the one she really wanted, she had nothing to do except wait to get ready to go have lunch with Fitz. She'd been trying her best not to watch tv or go online but it was getting harder and harder because she was getting anxious about what people were saying about her.

She managed to hold out until it was time to get ready for her lunch date and then she went to her closet to find something to wear. As she sifted through her clothes, somehow nothing seemed appropriate. She found herself over thinking everything, trying to weigh all the opinion of the people who would see her, if they would think it was too sexy then she stopped and scolded for caring about what people thought and took another look in her closet. This time she found a light blue sheer ruffled Chloe dress that stopped mid thigh, she quickly dressed and did her makeup. She strapped on her Prada sandals and grabbed her Saint Laurent purse and then called her agents to let them know she was ready. She made them take her through the side entrance to avoid the press and then within minutes she was at the white house. She entered through the southern private entrance and met him in the kitchen in the residence.

He was standing by the huge industrial sized metal refrigerator and she walked up to him and jumped on him and wrapped her legs around him. Fitz laughed as he spun her around and kissed her then he let her down.

"What took you so long? You look great by the way..."

She smiled and grabbed an apple off the kitchen counter and washed it.

"Thanks, what are we eating for lunch?"

Fitz took the cover of the two plates and brought them over to her where she stood by the table.

"The chef made sweet potato fries and boneless hot wings."

Olivia took a fry of the plate and ate it.

"Mm that's really good."

Fitz smiled and sat next to her.

"Is food ever not really good for you?"

"Rarely."

She took another fry and ate it.

"So I have good news…" Fitz began.

Olivia whipped her head up.

"You got it?"

"Yeah, I got Cyrus to call this morning and you are off the waitlist, they should have emailed you already."

She jumped up and kissed him.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, baby you're the best," she said with a smile.

Fitz chuckled.

"Anything for you."

She sat and started eating again.

"Maybe if I checked my email, I would've known."

"You still haven't been online or watched tv?"

"No."

"It's not all bad you know Liv, people do like you, a lot of people like you, your dress and shoes sold out in minutes after the pictures hit the online."

She smiled.

"Really?"

"Yeah and 'black girl magic' has been trending and 'pope procedure' and 'down with the swirl' has also has been trending."

Olivia covered her mouth and laughed.

"I can't believe 'down with the swirl' is trending."

"Do you know what it means?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm chocolate and you're vanilla and when we get all up in each other, we make a swirl," she started singing, "chocolate and vanilla swirl…"

Fitz laughed.

"Cyrus had to explain it to me today, I had no clue."

She bit a piece of her wing and drank some of her juice, she noticed Fitz wasn't really eating.

"Aren't you gonna eat?"

"Yeah but I want to ask you something first, a couple things actually."

"Sure, what's up?"

"I wanted to invite you out on Wednesday night, Cyrus wants us to go to this local karaoke bar, there's gonna be a lot of press though."

"I'm surprised Cyrus came up with this, looks like he's down with the swirl as well," she chuckled, "of course I'll come."

Fitz smiled.

"Great and there's also a new opera that will be opening on Thursday, will you come with me, there will be senators there and press."

"Oooh opera, does that mean I get to wear a fancy dress."

"Yes."

"Of course I'll come with you."

"One last thing, the prince and princess of Monaco will be coming at the end of the month, I'd be honored if you'd come to the dinner with me?"

"Does that mean I'll get to wear an even fancier dress?"

"Yes," he said with a smile.

"Fitz, why do you seem nervous to ask me, of course I'll come."

"Sorry, I can't just assume you'll come," he said as he began eating.

"What's your schedule like today?" She asked.

"Uh after this a have a meeting in the oval with my policy advisors."

"How much time do we have?"

"An hour, why do you ask?"

She smiled.

"I've been to the residence many times but I've never been to your room, I've never seen your bed, why don't you take me to your room and show me your bed and maybe, just maybe, I'll let you bend me over on it."

Fitz smiled slyly.

"Hey, it's not my fault I'm obsessed with your penis, maybe you shouldn't give it to me so good."

Fitz laughed.

"Careful baby, I might have to bend you over right here."

He grabbed her hand and tugged her to the exit.

"Wait!" She said causing him to stop, "the food Fitz, we can't forget the food, let's take it with us."

She ran back to the table and grabbed both plates and then followed him to the bedroom.


	42. Chapter 42

Olivia heard her doorbell chime and walked quickly to the door to open it for Tucker and Carson.

"Hi guys, thanks for coming."

"Thanks for inviting us back."

She gave them each a kiss on the cheek and stepped aside so they could bring their suitcases in the apartment.

"Girl, why didn't you tell us you were going on a date with the president?" Tucker said exaggeratedly.

She smiled.

"Is it bad downstairs?"

"Yep, it's like a bunch of thirsty people in the desert and you're the water, and their begging for a drop, 'please give us a drop, we beggeth for a drop',"said Carson jokingly.

Olivia laughed.

"Sorry."

"Don't worry about it girl, let's get started, let's get you beat."

She took them to her closet and stood by as they set up.

"So, what's the occasion this time?" Tucker asked.

"We're going out again, to a karaoke bar."

"What are you wearing?" Carson asked.

"Uhm a pair of AG dark gray jeans and this white off the shoulder long sleeve button down top I got from Stella McCartney."

"What shoes?

"Black suede Louboutin so kates."

"Nice, what about jewelry?"

"I have like three ear piercings, I'm gonna wear these little gold knobs and-" Olivia went to her jewelry box and took her necklaces out and held them up, "these tiny little gold necklaces."

"Those are cute, I'm thinking we could do a middle part and keep it sleek and straight," said Carson.

"Okay."

Tucker motioned for her to sit in the chair and she did. As they did her hair and makeup, they began asking her questions.

"So what does it feel like being the most talk about woman in America?"

"Uhm, I've been trying to avoid the news and stuff, I really haven't been online either, just to check my emails."

"Really?" Tucker asked.

"Yeah, I've been unplugged, I had to go the buy a dress yesterday and I had to sneak out and wear a hoodie and glasses and it was 80 degrees outside."

They were quiet for a while and Olivia wondered what was wrong.

"Can we ask you something? Please don't get upset."

"Uhm okay," Olivia said nervously.

"Do you mind if we tell people we are your hair and makeup stylist? If not then we totally understand," said Tucker.

"Are you kidding me, of course, especially if it gets you guys more business, I don't mind at all."

She saw them visibly take a sigh of relief.

"Thank you so much, see Tucker, I told you she was cool."

She chuckled.

"I got nervous for a sec there."

"No, we just want to make sure it was okay with you first," said Tucker.

"No, thanks for asking."

They continued working on her her, when Tucker was almost finished with her makeup he stopped.

"I'm gonna do a light pink gloss, no lipstick this time, okay?"

"You guys are the experts, I'm fine either way," she said with a chuckle.

A few minutes later, they were finished. She stood up and looked herself over in the mirror.

"Love it!"

They laughed.

"You know we had to hook you up."

"As always, thank you guys so much."

She disrobed and started to get dressed, putting on her jeans and jewelry first. Afterwards, they helped her with her top to make sure no makeup got on it.

"Can we get a picture of you to put on our Instagram?"

"Sure."

Carson pulled out his phone.

"In front of the vanity has good lighting."

Olivia walked over to the vanity and posed for the picture and then they brought her over to the standing mirror and they took a selfie together. As they were packing up, Olivia went through her bags, trying to choose one for her outfit.

"You have a lot of stuff in your closet, nice stuff," said Carson.

"Yeah, I like my money right where I can see it, hanging in my closet."

They both laughed.

"I know that's right?" said Tucker.

"I really like that mini Hermes Birkin, the orange one, it's cute, I think you should wear that one."

Olivia picked the bag and stepped in front of the mirror and looked over her outfit.

"You're right, it does look cute, this is the one."

After a few more minutes, they were all packed up and ready to go, she showed them out and kissed them goodbye and then headed back to her closet because it was almost time for Fitz to pick her up and he was always on time.

By the time she got her shoes on and put her wallet in her bag, she heard Fitz clear his throat behind her. Before she got a chance to turn around, he was behind her with his arm around her waist.

"You look great," he said as he kissed her cheek.

"Thank you."

"You ready?"

"Yep."

She felt his slap her ass and she squealed.

"Fitz!"

"Shut up, you like it," he said jokingly.

She chuckled.

"Come on, let's go."

She grabbed her purse and they headed out.

The outside of her building was crazier than the first time, Fitz held her protectively and walked her to the car and then they took off. The karaoke bar wasn't very far from her apartment, within 15 minutes they pulled up to the front of the karaoke bar. Secret service controlled the crowd of reporters as they walked in.

Olivia was surprised to see that there were regular people in the bar. Fitz could tell that she was surprised.

"Don't worry, they won't bother you, secret service already spoke with them, they'll probably hide and take pictures though, I thought it might take away from the experience if I had it emptied out."

"No, I don't mind at all, I prefer it."

Upon realizing that they had entered, everyone stopped and stared, even the man that was on the stage singing Aerosmith. A few awkward moments passed then the patrons started cheering. Fitz smiled and waved and walked her over to the bar. Even though it was a karaoke bar, it was less of a bar and more of a lounge. There was a live band, tables and booths for people to sit and order food and a stage for everyone to take turns and sing.

"Do you want something to drink?" Fitz asked.

"A beer."

Fitz turned to the bartender.

"Two beers please."

The bartender nodded quickly and went to fetch the beers. The man on the stage started singing 'moonage daydream' by David Bowie.

Olivia smiled and rocked to the music.

"I love this song."

"Are you gonna sing?" Fitz asked.

"Oh no, I can't sing in front of all these people, I'm not like you."

"Come on, one song."

She smiled.

"No, I'm shy, you know that."

The bartender came back with the beers.

"Two cold beers."

"Put it on the tab."

"Yes sir."

"Thank you," Olivia said with a smile.

Fitz handed Olivia her beer and then took her hand and walked her closer to the stage. A new person walked on the stage and his song came on, Olivia stood watching the performance until Fitz broke out in song.

" _ **That's how I knooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, there's no me without youuuuuuuuuu, there's no me, without youuuuuuuuuu, yeah yeah yeah, that's how I know baby."**_

He wasn't loud enough for the entire bar to hear him, only those close by because the karaoke machine was pretty loud.

Olivia couldn't help but laugh, he had no qualms about showing her affection in public.

"You gonna sing to me all evening?"

"Absolutely," he said with a smile.

She could see the people sneaking and taking pictures of them but she pushed it to the back of her mind and tried not to get nervous about it, Fitz didn't seem to care.

A few songs passed and then Olivia finally felt comfortable enough to sing along.

" _ **Just a small town girl, livin in a lonely world…"**_

Fitz joined.

" _ **Just a city boy, born and raised in south Detroit."**_

Olivia laughed and then the chorus came on.

" _ **Strangers waiting...up and down the boulevard, shadows searchin in the night…Don't stop believin, hold on to the feelin... streetlight people…"**_

As the song ended Fitz laughed.

"Does this mean your ready to go up there?"

"You first then I'll go."

Fitz took a sip of his beer and handed it to her to hold.

"You're on."

He headed up the the stage and stood by the mic and waited for his song. 'how deep is your love' by the Bees Gees came on the karaoke machine.

She rocked to the beat as he sang. She had no idea how he could be so calm and collected in front of so many different people or how he knew how to play up to them so well.

" _ **How deep is your love, how deep is your love,**_

 _ **I really mean to learn,**_

 _ **Cause we're living in a world of fool,**_

 _ **Breaking us down when they all should let us be,**_

 _ **We belong to you and me…"**_

He kept his eyes on her the entire time and as the song finished, she could tell he was about to invite her up. The next song that came on was one of their favorites, it was the song they sang together when he woke up from his coma and she was examining his memory and how much damage was done to his brain, 'the boys are back in town' by Thin Lizzy.

"Come on Livie, this is our song," he said into the mic.

Everyone looked at her and she couldn't help but smile. Tom came over and took the beers and her purse and helped her up to the stage. The man operating the karaoke machine gave her, her own mic and then played the song from the beginning.

Fitz smiled at her then started singing.

" _ **Guess who just got back today,**_

 _ **Them wild-eyed boys that had been away,**_

 _ **Haven't change, had much to say,**_

 _ **But man I still think them cats are crazy,**_

 _ **They were asking if you were around,**_

 _ **How you was, where you could be found,**_

 _ **Told them you were living downtown,**_

 _ **Driving all the old men crazy,**_

 _ **The boys are back in town, the boys are back in town.."**_

As Fitz sang, somehow something fell away for Olivia and she no longer felt nervous and joined in even though pretty much everyone had their phone out recording them.

Then billy Idol's 'rebel yell' came on and they continued singing until a couple songs went by and the finished with Tommy Tutone's '867-5309 Jenny'.

They bowed and then Fitz helped her off the stage and took her back to the bar as the crowd cheered.

Olivia was a little out of breath from all the singing and dancing and asked the bartender for some water.

"Wasn't that fun?" Fitz teased.

"It was, it really was, I'm glad I did it."

The bartender handed her the water.

"Thank you so much, I didn't get your name?"

"Eli, ma'am."

Olivia almost spit out her water.

"Are you alright?" Fitz asked.

She wiped her mouth and smiled.

"Yeah, I'm fine, thank you... Eli."

Bartender nodded and walked away.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Eli's my father's name."

Fitz almost kicked himself for not making the connection right away, when he was searching for him, he mostly knew him as Rowan.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize."

"It's okay, thousands of people are named Eli, that was just so random it caught me off guard."

"Do you want to go?"

"No, I'm fine, the music here is really good, I wanna stick around for a while longer."

Fitz smiled.

"Okay."

They hung out by the bar for a half hour before Fitz closed the tab and tipped the bartender generously then they headed back to the car. As they drove back to her apartment Fitz could tell her mood got somber. He kept quiet about it in the car but when they got to the apartment and she took her keys out her purse to open the door, he decided to ask.

"Liv, are you sure you're alright?"

She opened the door and turned to face him.

"I'm sure."

They both walked in and Fitz closed the door, he decided to press her a little more about it what was going on with her.

"Have you been talking to your therapist?"

"Yes," she lied.

She hadn't spoken to Savannah since the morning of Sahara's birthday.

"She still doesn't think we should see her together?"

"No, not yet."

"Okay."

She took off her heels and walked to her closet, Fitz followed. She stood in front of Fitz and swept hair to the side so Fitz could help her take her necklaces off.

"Did you want me to stay with you tonight?"

"Fitz, everyone just saw you come up to my apartment, you definitely have to leave in the next 15 minutes or people are gonna think we're in here fucking."

"We could," he said as he kissed her shoulder, "you know I don't care."

She chuckled.

"I know."

She turned around and faced him.

"I'm okay, I promise, I had so much fun tonight, I still can't believe you got me to go on stage and sing."

Fitz smiled.

"I'm glad you had fun."

She got on the tip of her toes and kissed him softly and then slapped his ass.

"Come on, time to go tight buns."

"Okay but I'm gonna call you once I get home and if you don't sound 150 times happier I'm coming back."

"Fitz I'm fine, I swear," she said as she laughed.

"Okay."

He kissed her again and then headed to the foyer. He was worried she wasn't being honest about her feelings but he also knew he had the tendency to over blow things when it came out her and he didn't want to push her if she in fact was okay.

"Okay, you said you had a dress for tomorrow right?"

"Yeah, I have to pick it up tomorrow, I needed it altered."

"Please tell me you didn't pay for it?"

"No, I used the card you gave me."

He smiled and kissed her again.

"I'll see you tomorrow at 6pm sharp."

Fitz opened the door.

"Love you," she said as he headed out.

"Love you too."

Once Fitz left, Olivia undressed and took a quick shower today get ready for bed. Within an hour Fitz called to check in and make sure she was alright before he went to bed as well.

The next morning when Olivia woke up she was a little drowsy from suffering multiple nightmares about her father and struggling to go back to sleep after. She had a lot to do throughout the day, she needed to pick up her dress from Versailles, an opulent French boutique in the area then she had yoga class (which she'd been skipping all week) then at 2pm she had a meeting with the director of the biospace research facility and she also had to get back to her apartment to get ready for the opera by 4pm the latest.

She brushed her teeth and freshened up quickly then she made herself some coffee as she called Fitz just to chat before they both started their day. Since she had yoga class, she dressed in a high waisted grey yoga legging and matching spaghetti strap bralette with a white slouchy shoulder ballerina cardigan that tied around her waist and accentuated how tiny it was. Versailles opened at 11am, so she had some time on her hands before she had to leave.

She checked her email and then lounged around on couch, she had a half hour before it was time to leave. She really been trying to hold out with watching tv but as she sat in the couch she realized how unhealthy it was to completely cut herself off from cable and the Internet so she finally decided to take a peek at what they we're saying about her. She grabbed her phone and went on Twitter first and search her hashtag. The video of them singing was all over the feed and it made her smile and then she saw what people were saying, she read everything, from people saying she was beautiful and smart to others who said she was an opportunist whore and worse. Oddly enough, it didn't affect her as much as she thought it would, the positive things made her smile and the negative things made her roll her eyes. She checked her Instagram and realized she had thousands upon thousands of new followers and then she went on Facebook and it was the same.

By the time she finished, it was time to head out, this time she decided not hide and go through the freight or side exit, she was going to exit through her lobby. She grabbed her Ray bans and her Hermes bag and called her guards.

When they brought her down to the lobby, the crowd was wild. She took a deep breath and then allowed her guards to hustle her through the crowd.

" **Dr. Pope are you and the president in a relationship?"**

" **Olivia are you and the president dating?"**

They brought her through the crowd and to the car. Within minutes, she was at Versailles waiting to try on her altered dress. Once she tried it and was pleased with the fit, she took her dress and headed to her yoga class, worked up a sweat while people stared and secretly took pictures then headed back home to shower and change to go to her meeting with the director of the research facility. She arrived for the meeting just in time and sat outside the director's office waiting for the director to appear.

A tall Man of Indian descent appear from his office and cleared his throat

"Dr. Pope?"

She stood up quickly and walked over and shook his hand.

"Mr. Uddin, thank you for meeting me."

"Absolutely."

He stepped aside and let her in his office and then closed the door and took a seat at his desk.

"So, I invited you here just to have you sign a few documents including the lease-"

Olivia was confused.

"We haven't discussed a price or-"

"A price was already discussed and the space you requested has been retained for a one year period, all we need is for the lease to be signed to make it official."

She closed her eyes and smiled, she was going to kill Fitz.

"When was this discussed?"

"Everything was discussed and finalized by Monday evening, a rather quick timeframe but when the president makes a request, you don't say no, also it seemed to have been an oversight on our part, had I known that a scientist of your stature and recognition had interest in our facility, surely we would have pushed you up to the top of the list."

Olivia had no idea what to say so she smiled and signed everything she needed to sign and the second she stepped out of the office she called Fitz.

"Hello?"

He voice was so innocent and unsuspecting it made her smile.

"Why didn't you tell me you paid for the lab space for a whole year!"

She could hear him laughing.

"I figured if you're going to do research to benefit the human race, you shouldn't have to pay for you own lab space, I'm investing in the human race."

"I'm am going to kill you when I see you later on-"

"What was that Cyrus, sorry, Cy is calling gotta go."

"Fitz, don't hang up-"

He hung up mid sentence and she couldn't help laugh and remind herself to thank him thoroughly for what he did.

She went home and showered and waited for Tucker and Carson. As usual they were exactly on time. She ran to the door and let them in.

"Hey guys, I promise it's the last time for the week," she said she kissed them and walked them to her closet.

She allowed them to set up and then took a seat in her chair.

"You know what we're gonna ask, where are you going and what outfit?"

She smiled and pointed to the garment bag hanging on the hall.

"We're going to the opera."

Carson walked over and opened the bag and pulled out her Naeem Khan dress. It had a pretty pearl and jewel beaded bodice and a satin metallic lavender draped skirt that had a slit up to her thigh and didn't quite touch the ground.

"Lord hold me," Carson said dramatically, "this dress is gorgeous."

Olivia smiled.

"I know exactly what you need for this dress, were gonna give some nice bouncy old Hollywood curls with a side part and a nice natural look to go with it," said Tucker.

"Perfect, I love it already."

She sat and watched as the did her up, it took longer than usual but they finished with enough time to help her get dressed before Fitz arrived.

"How business?" She asked them as she strapped on her heels.

"You wouldn't believe how many people wanna work with us after we put that picture up on instagram, we actually raised our rate," Tucker said with a chuckle, "not for you though, you get a discount."

Olivia chuckled.

"Well I'm happy for you guys."

She put her diamond knobs on and check herself in the mirror.

"I love it."

"You know we're gonna ask for a picture," said Carson.

"Of course."

They stood in front of the mirror and as they were taking pictures Olivia heard Fitz clear his throat.

"Can I join?" He teased.

Tucker and Carson jumped back.

"Mr. president," they said in shock.

"Hello-" Fitz stretched his hand to shake theirs.

"I'm Tucker, this is Carson."

"Hi Tucker and Carson."

Olivia smiled.

"Fitz you're here early."

He checked his watch.

"Only by 10 minutes, you look amazing by the way. Isn't she the most beautiful woman you guys have ever seen?"

Olivia smiled shyly.

"Thanks, Tucker and Carson worked their magic."

"She is gorgeous, I'm just in love with those cheeks, I just wanna pinch them all the time," said Tucker, "and she's the sweetest person ever."

Olivia blushed.

"You guys are embarrassing me," she said with a smile.

"Okay, okay, we're going."

They grabbed their suitcases, kissed her on the cheek and bid her and Fitz good bye then headed out quickly.

Once they were alone Fitz walked over to her and pulled her closer.

"Do you have any idea how good it feel to have the most beautiful woman in the world by my side?"

She smiled.

"Nope but I know how it feels to have to most handsome man in the world by my side."

She turned around and faced him.

"Thank you for the lab, I can't explain to you how much that means to me."

Fitz smiled.

"Anything for you."

He kissed her on the nose and she giggled.

"Come on, let's go."

He held her hand and walked her downstairs and into the car. The drive to the opera house was longer than she anticipated but she talked Fitz's ear off so time passed quickly. Once they arrived, Fitz took her arm and walked her in the theatre, even though the show wasn't set to begin for another 20 minutes, the theatre was packed with mingling politicians and each one of them were trying to get to Fitz.

Fitz introduced her to everyone that approached her and when the New York senator and her husband approached them, she had a hard time not fangirling out.

"Hello senator Gillibrand, Mike, this is Olivia," said Fitz.

The senator and her husband reached out and shook her hand.

"It's very nice to meet you Olivia."

"I voted for you," Olivia said quickly.

"Thank you," the senator said.

Fitz chuckled.

"She didn't vote for me," said Fitz.

Olivia slapped his arm gently.

"I wasn't in the country, is the excuse that I always give but really, I'm a crazy liberal."

They all chuckled.

"You know our oldest daughter is going to be at your lecture at MIT in a couple of weeks."

"Wow really," Olivia smiled, "what's her name, I'll look out for her at the lecture."

"Becca, she just graduated high school, she's going to Brown in the fall."

"Wow congrats-"

The usher announced that the show would commence shortly, cutting their conversation short. Fitz took her to the balcony to their booth and they sat and waited for the show to begin.

Olivia enjoyed the show thoroughly and after the show they mingled for awhile but when Fitz realized Olivia wouldn't stop fidgeting he cut the conversations short and took her back to the car. She thought it was weird that he'd just ditch the socializing portion of the evening but she didn't comment and just followed him to the car. The minute he had her in the car, he started laughing and pulled her on top of him and reached under her dress, he pulled her panties to the side and slid a finger inside her, in a swift series of movement.

She gasped.

"I knew it, dripping wet for me."

He pulled out his finger, soaked with all her gathered fluid and brought it up to her lips.

"Here baby, have a taste."

Olivia took his finger in her mouth and sucked it.

"Good girl, now let me taste your tongue."

Olivia slowly slithered her tongue into his mouth to meet his tongue. As they kissed, she felt him unbuckle his pants and pull them down and once he was free, he took his tip and slid it in between her wet folds and then stuck it in.

By the time, they pulled up to Olivia's apartment, Olivia was struggling to get Fitz to stop giggling like a giddy schoolboy, she was sure with the way he was behaving the second they stepped out of the limo everyone would be able to tell what they just did.

"Fitz, stop smiling, people are going to know," she scolded.

"Where did you learn to grind your hips like that, I was yelling like a mad man," he said with a smile.

"Fitz stop laughing it's not funny."

She could hear the press outside clamoring for them.

Fitz pursed his lips together.

"Okay, no more laughing, no smiling, nothing," as he said the words he started smiling again.

She rolled her eyes and started laughing too.

"Just come, are you sure my hair isn't messy."

"You look fine."

Fitz knocked on the door and one of his agents opened it, he stepped out and took her hand and they faced the crowd together.


	43. Chapter 43

**2 Weeks later.**

It was the day of Olivia's lecture.

She sat in the green room behind the stage waiting for the one of the administrative assistants to call her once all the students were seated and it was time to begin the lecture.

It had been over three weeks since her and Fitz made their relationship public and it had been something of a whirlwind experience since then, luckily it was a good one. She couldn't complain, he'd promise to wine and dine her and he'd been doing so in spectacular fashion. The press was still crazy but she'd been learning to deal with it even though she tried to stay out of public as much as possible. Things were going great and she was extremely busy with preparing to take over the lab and moving all the equipment from New York while also preparing for the state dinner with the Monegasque monarchy; on top of that Fitz's birthday was coming up along with their one year anniversary which he conveniently planned to overlap with his vacation.

"Dr. Pope, it's time," said the assistant who walked quickly into the room.

Olivia snapped out of her thought train and grabbed her papers and followed behind the woman to the stage. Before she made her walk on the stage, she stopped to take a breath behind the curtain and peek out at the audience. She thought it would've been a small group of students but the auditorium was packed. She tried not to panic and as she looked out she saw Gerry sitting at the front row and smiled and took another breath then she walked out to the stage on she heard the school administrator announce her name.

There was a round of applause as she walked across and she waved and smiled as she saw the flash of cameras go off. The setup of the stage was informal, there was a huge projection screen behind her for images and notes from her PowerPoint, there was a stool, a dry erase board, mic stand and a wooden desk. She took the mic from the stand and began.

"Wow," she said as she looked out to the audience, "you guys look good."

She heard a chorus of chuckles in response and smiled.

"The reason I'm here today is to pass on a bit of knowledge that I've...acquired over the years in hopes that it will help you in your own studies, research and later on - your careers and I also hope that I do not bore you death while I attempt to do so."

The audience chuckled.

"Wow, this is going pretty good," she said in what seem like a thought to herself.

They laughed again.

"I guess I'll start by telling you guys a little about myself, I actually wanted to hear from you guys because I thought there would only be like 5 people here but there are so many of you I'm afraid by we're finished we'd be out of time, thank you for that by the way, thank you all for coming."

The audience applauded.

"So let's see, I'm 31 years old, for any of you that don't know, I'm a savant, it's affliction that I've had since I was born, and I say affliction because in my case my savant syndrome causes me to suffer from terribly painful migraines, most of the times they're so bad that I lose consciousness but my savant syndrome has also allowed me to remember anything I've ever seen, heard, said, felt, tasted, thought, smelt, it allows me to do really large and complex calculations in my head, it also allows me to measure distances and angles without any measurement instruments and a couple other things but uhm I tell you this because for most of my childhood, being a savant was the worst thing that ever happened to me, I absolutely hated it, I just wanted to be normal. I was always in schools with kids older than me that I couldn't relate to and on top of that I had dyslexia so everything I read looked like coptic which funny enough helped me actually learn coptic."

They chuckled. She walked slowly back and forth as she spoke.

"But, I tell you this because the reason I got interested in science, well medical science specifically, was because I wanted to cure myself of the migraines that I suffered from. Every doctor I saw told me that they had no idea what was wrong with me and so I decided that I'd figure it out myself, I actually haven't done that as yet because it's quite complicated to examine your own brain but on my expedition to cure myself I came across something pretty close to magic and that is the stem cell. I say it's close to magic because I think most biological questions can be answered with stem cells or at least better understood by the study of it, from the ability to regenerate which is what my research and medical procedure is based on, to cloning which is far more complexed and deals with the programming of stem cells, to differentiation, the possibilities are endless..."

As Olivia spoke Gerry sat in the front row taking notes, as most of the audience did. The more she spoke, the more he found himself becoming intrigued by what she said and the more he wanted to know.

Olivia talked about stem cells for a while and then she explained how she came up with her procedure and the science behind it and before she knew it, time was up. The assistant had told her there would be a few questions, when she wasn't public with Fitz it seem exciting, now it was terrifying. She hoped that no one would ask her anything uncomfortable. The students with questions lined up at a mic going down the aisle, there weren't many which told her that they must've did a draw or something.

The first student was a tiny Asian girl with glasses, who seem to be around 18.

"Hi, my name is Mako, I'm going to attend NYU in the fall pre-med, my question to you is do you think stem cell could possibly cure cancer?"

Olivia smiled.

"Thank you Mako and congrats on getting into NYU. Now to your question, theoretically speaking the stem cell would need to be programmed to act as already matured cells in the body and the problem with that is, stem cells are little shapeshifters, if you inject them into the body hoping they'll become a B cell to fight a cancer like.. let's say leukemia, it's very likely they might shift into the cancer cells itself, if we have the right technology we can turn the stem cell into a formidable antibody fighting army but we don't so I'll say it's tentative whether stem cells can cure cancer but for what it's worth, I actually think nanotechnology is how we are going to end up curing the different forms of cancer that exist.""

"Have you studied nanotechnology?" she asked.

"I have, it's complex and very advanced but that's why I think it could be the answer."

"Thank you," she said with a smile.

Another girl walked up.

"I read online somewhere that you used to help nasa calculate the distance between stars and other Galaxies, is that true and if so, did you ever go to the international space station and did they ever let you name a star?"

Olivia smiled.

"Yes, I did name 1 star, it's called Amora, it's 2.564 parsecs away and it's in the supernova phase, I never got to go to the international space station though, which sucks."

They laughed as a young guy walked up.

"Are you working on anything new, any new research?"

"I'm sort of in the period where I'm preparing to do that, but I haven't decided what exactly that new endeavor would be."

Another gentleman walked up.

"What is the first thing you remember?"

Olivia chuckled.

"I remember taking my first breath moments after being born, it hurt."

The audience laughed.

"When you said and you could do a couple other things in regards to your savant syndrome, what are those things and also does your dyslexia still affect you and if so how?"

"No, my dyslexia hasn't affected me for many years, actually the last time I had an issue with it was when I was 9 years old and to answer your other question, my savant syndrome for some reason has made me pretty good at drawing, sculpting, just little things, tactile, cognitive or otherwise have been enhanced, for example, I was born left handed but I learned to write with my right hand, which isn't exactly spectacular, many people can do that but once I learn to write with my right hand I realized that I had the ability to write with both left and right at the same time which is a godsend when I'm writing complex algorithms."

The assistants let two more guests to mic and cut off everyone else.

"What's your advice to girls trying to follow your footsteps especially since we don't have a memory like yours?" one girl asked.

"My advice is to believe in yourself and your ideas and fight for them no matter what, it doesn't matter how big or how small, be passionate, hard work beats talent so as long as you're willing to do the work, there is no limit on how far you can go."

The girl smiled and stepped aside so the second student could ask a question.

"Do you know why you are able to remember everything?"

Olivia pondered for a second wondering how to make it as simple as possible so she didn't confuse them.

"Uhm, well a normal brain registers a memory in a three step process right so first it encodes, consolidates and then retrieves. You can't retrieve a memory if your brain didn't encode it. In order for your brain to encode a memory, your neurons (nerve cells in the brain) need to open a synaptic channel in order to talk to other neurons and they only do that if whatever event or action on the outside is strong enough to stimulate several of the same neurons to send the same message saying that whatever is happening outside of the body is important enough to be remembered. In my case, my brain doesn't perform a three step process to store a memory. I don't need several neurons sending the same message in order from my brain to deem something important enough to be remembered, it registers every spec of stimuli it gets from the outside, every detail, every attribute; it keeps it just as is, uncorrupted and unprocessed and it sends it to the medial temporal lobe which in my case acts as a random access memory drift, making all my memories easily retrievable in their purest form."

The student stood looking at her wide eyed.

"Wow. Do you think that one day it might overload and you'll just lose your memory completely and you won't be able to remember anything at all?"

Olivia chuckled.

"I hope not, I wouldn't want to end up like Dory from Finding Nemo, but the brain is spectacular, the more you take in, the more your brain expands."

The audience chuckled and the assistant ushered him back to his seat so Olivia took that as the cue that they were finished.

"Wow I guess we're finished, thank you guys for having me."

She waved and waited as they gave her a round of applause then she grabbed her paperwork from the desk and then headed back to the green room, Gerry met her in the room shortly after.

"How was it, did I bore you to death?" She asked.

"No, it was great," he said as he gave her a high five, "like I had no idea it was so complex but it's complex in a weird way that makes you want to know more."

"Thanks and I'm working on my lab in D.C., by the time you come back for school, it should be up and running and you can come and look around and see what I'm cooking up."

"Really, you know what would be even better?"

"What?"

"I could be your apprentice, I could work with you after school or on the weekends."

Olivia was surprised, pleasantly.

"What about football?"

"I love football and I'll always love it but dad was right, I can't risk another back injury and every time I see a football that's all I can think about."

"Wow Gerry, I'm really excited now but I implore you to think about it over the summer and make sure this is what you want, of course you can change your mind once you start but I want to make sure that this is what you love."

Gerry smiled.

"Of course and I'll also talk to mom and dad about it."

"Of course," Olivia said with a smile.

They chatted for awhile until it was time for them to leave, Gerry and his agents headed back to California and Olivia headed to D.C.

The later in the afternoon, when she landed after her hour and a half long flight, she headed straight to the whitehouse for her lunch date with Fitz.

When she walked into the Oval Office Fitz was on a call, so she gave him a peck on the cheek and then went to sit on the couch until he finished. As she waited Cyrus trotted into the office with a stack of papers in hand.

"Hi Olivia, you're just the person I wanted to talk to."

"Me, why?"

"Well-" before Cyrus could finish Fitz was off his call.

"Cy, what's up."

He got up from his seat and walked over to the couch and gave Olivia a kiss and took a seat beside her.

"You're wearing a suit today, you look sharp, I like it."

"Yeah well you know I like to change it up," she said with a smile.

"Gerry called and told me about the lecture, he loved it and he wants to your apprentice, that's a surprise."

"I'm surprised Mellie let him come."

"She didn't know, she thought he was coming to see me so I'm sure she's gonna be pissed."

Olivia chuckled.

Cyrus cleared his throat, feeling completely ignored.

"As I was saying Liv, I needed to talk to you."

"Sure, what's up?" She asked with a smile.

"We need to talk about your image."

"My image?"

"Yeah, we need to change your image, you're too sexy and the pictures floating around of you in bathing suits and kissing guys at the club aren't helping, especially not with the evangelicals in our base, the guys might like you cause you're hot but the women, not so much-"

Olivia cut him off.

"There was one picture of me kissing one guy and that is Elliot, my gay best friend and it was his birthday party and it was only a peck on the lips."

"Regardless, we did a focus group on you, they see you as the young hot girlfriend, that's the narrative now and we need to change that. You have substance, they like that you're smart but they say your sexuality distracts from that. I heard highlights of your lecture today and it was brilliant, especially the bit about little girls following in your footsteps, the press is eating it up."

"Mhmm," was all Olivia said.

"We need to change your wardrobe, more wholesome and First Lady like and we can probably stage a few events where attend church with Fitz, it's a no-no when it comes to atheism you know the base is not having that, not in the white house-"

"Because you and Fitz are so christian," she said sarcastically.

"It doesn't matter what we are, all that matters it what they think. Also stay away from publicly stating your opinion on political issues," Cyrus looked down at his notes and continued, "what else is there, let's see, uhm, apart from the clothes, the politics, the religion, that's it for now, we can work on that and anything else comes up, we'll handle it accordingly. Oh and also the car, you can't drive it anymore, that's a $250,000 sports car, it's way too flashy."

Olivia smiled.

"That's a great plan," said Olivia.

Fitz was surprised she'd agree with that, he surely didn't.

"But we have a problem and by we, I mean you," she added.

"What's my problem?" Cyrus asked.

"Your problem is that I like who I am, I actually love who I am, I like what I do and how I do it, I like the way I dress, I like my values so I'm certainly not going to change them or pretend they're different for your base. I don't wanna be anyone else but exactly who I am right now so I'm not gonna change for a bunch people that I don't know and probably will never meet, I am a private citizen and I can do whatever the fuck I want."

Fitz was smiling from ear to ear.

Cyrus sighed.

"You need to do this for Fitz, I know it's sexist and unfair but I just want to make you more relatable and likable to our base-"

"It's funny that somehow you think that's gonna make me do it, Fitz knows exactly who I was before we made our relationship public."

"Liv I'm not saying change everything, just a few minor adjustments."

"If the roles were reversed, would you ask Fitz to change his appearance?"

"Fitz doesn't have pictures of him floating around the internet in string bikinis on the beach and I know it's sexist, I don't like it but.."

"How about I just change the color of my skin, I'm sure all the problems your base has with me will disappear and you change your sexual orientation Cyrus all their problems with you will disappear as well. You can't please everyone Cy, so just give it a rest."

"I think you have your answer Cy," Fitz said.

Olivia laughed and took her blazer off, she was more than happy to end the conversation.

"Do you wanna have lunch with us?" she said, changing the subject.

Cyrus; realizing he lost this battle, took a seat on the couch. Apart of him liked the fact that she wanted to stay true to herself and not change her appearance but the political half was annoyed. He knew he'd lost the battle and needed to go back to the drawing board but for now he was going to give it a rest, Fitz didn't have to start campaigning for another few months. She had an infectious personality, she was like Fitz in many ways, charming and magnetic and he started brainstorming ways he could use that to win over voters.

"So, how's the dinner coming along?" She asked

"Good-"

One of the aides burst into the room.

"Sir Sally Langston just announced that she's running for president!"

"What!" screamed Fitz.

"She's at a campaign rally in Georgia, she just announced it sir, what should we do?"

Cyrus jumped up.

"Please tell me you're joking Melissa, please tell me this is all one big joke, I do not need this right now, I have high blood pressure do you want to be responsible for killing me."

"She's live in cnn right now, the press is requesting a statement sir."

"Leave us," Fitz ordered.

"Yes sir."

Fitz got up and walked over to his desk and picked up his phone and dialed Lauren.

"Lauren, put me through to Billy Chambers."

Olivia watched as Cyrus paced angrily back and forth, Fitz seemed very calm considering what was going on.

Someone else knocked on the door.

"Your lunch sir."

Olivia walked quickly to the door and collected the food and placed it on the coffee table.

"Hey Billy, quick question, I know you guys have been busy but did you and your boss' resignation letters get lost in the mail, it could just be me or a mix up on my end but I haven't received them as yet."

Cyrus ran over to Fitz and put the phone on speaker.

"No sir, she is still your Vice President sir," Billy said through the phone.

Fitz cleared his throat.

"Come again?"

"I said, she still plans on fulfilling her duties as Vice President sir."

Fitz was dangerously seriously for a minute and then burst into laughter. He laughed so hard that tears came to his eyes.

"Billy I want you and your boss' resignation on my desk by the time I digest my lunch you stupid ungrateful son of a bitch."

"Sir, Madam Vice President Langston-"

Fitz hung up as Billy was speaking and walked over to the couch and took a seat by Olivia.

Cyrus paced with his hands on his head.

"What's our next move, Sally is going steal the conservatives right out from under us."

Fitz was quiet for a while, he was thinking.

"Cyrus I need you to amend my reelection paperwork, put me in as an independent."

"What?"

"You heard me, I'm guessing Sally is going to try to run as an independent in order to make it to the general because she certainly won't be able to beat me in the primaries, she might be able to peel off right wing conservatives but she won't get moderate republicans and she certainly won't get moderate democrats, force her to run as a republican which boxes her into a corner with the conservatives, while I run as an independent and I'll keep my moderate republican votes, independent votes and steal votes from the democrats like we did in 08."

Cyrus was quiet for a while.

"That's fucking brilliant," he ran out the door, "Ethan," he called as he ran.

Fitz leaned his head back on the couch and closed his eyes. Olivia had never seen his that angry before, his hands were balled in fist and she could feel the tension in his body.

"Uhm, do you want me to go?"

"Of course not, just need a minute."

She rested her hand on his knee and sat with him quietly.

When she saw him loosen up, she chuckled.

"The good thing is that you didn't like her anyways right?"

"That's the good thing, the bad thing is that I need a new vp."

"Can I suggest a candidate..."


	44. Chapter 44

**Thank you for all the continued support and reviews, I might not be able to reply to all but I definitely look forward to my regular reviewers after every chapter.**

Day of the state dinner

Fitz sat at his desk in the oval. He'd been up for most of the night thinking through Olivia's suggestion and she was right.

It was mid morning and media was still going crazy over Sally's election announcement and resignation and rightfully so, he was still shocked as well.

Cyrus trotted in with a folder breaking him from his train of thought.

"I have a list of VP picks for you to consider, the sooner we make the announcement the better."

Fitz looked up at Cyrus.

"I've already made my decision on a VP pick."

Cyrus scratched his temple.

"You haven't even seen the list, I'm begging you to just consider the list, we have some great people, all vetted and willing, no, overjoyed to be your VP."

"I've already made my decision Cy."

Cyrus sighed.

"Alright sir, who did you pick?"

"You Cy."

Cyrus stood staring in space for a while before he spoke.

"What?"

"I want you to be my VP, you're qualified, you're honest, you're loyal, smart and capable and you helped me move heaven and earth to find Olivia and I haven't forgotten that."

Cyrus stood speechless.

"Cy, are you going to say anything?"

Cyrus was a little choked up.

"I- I don't know what to say."

"Yes or no would be a start," Fitz said with a chuckle.

"Fitz I'm gay."

"What!" Fitz screamed, "how dare you, let's gather in the town square and burn you at the stake, you heathen," Fitz said sarcastically.

"No, I mean, I'm gay, I'm married, I have a black daughter, that's gonna alienate even mo-"

"It's time to stop running from who we are and who we love and embrace it. I love Olivia and her beautiful brown skin, and her wild curly hair and I don't want a vote from anyone who has a problem with that and I know you love James and his...eccentricity so let's stop hiding behind the Republican Party because let's face it, we both know we're not that, let's stop being cowards and embrace our true values and see where it takes us," Fitz paused, "so… are you in?"

Cyrus smiled.

"It will be an honor to serve as your Vice President sir."

Fitz laughed and went over to the decanter.

"Let's celebrate before we announce it."

Fitz poured two glasses and handed one to Cyrus.

"You know Olivia was the one who opened my eyes about you," Fitz said as he took a sip.

"What do you mean?"

"After the Sally drama, we were sitting on the couch and she told me that she personally thought you'd be a good VP pick, she said you were intense but not nefarious and that she thinks you'd like to run for office."

Cyrus was shocked.

"She did?"

"Yes, I felt pretty horrible because as your friend I never considered that's what you wanted, you were always so worried about me and what I wanted and needed that we never had time to talk about what you wanted so I guess what I'm saying is that if the presidency is something you want, something you see in your future, you can count on me to fully support a Cyrus Beene presidency until you make it to the whitehouse, I won't help you once you're there though, I'll be halfway around the world, sipping the best scotch in the world on the beach somewhere with Olivia, turning brown from my tan instead of gray from stress."

Cyrus chuckled and shook his head.

"Olivia, you know I've always liked her."

"Yeah sure," Fitz said with a chuckle.

Cyrus took another sip of his scotch.

"Thank you, I won't disappoint you."

Fitz chuckled.

"Go call James and your daughter and tell them the good news then we'll announce it before the press briefing today."

Later in the afternoon.

Olivia stood outside of her shower, she'd been standing there for almost a half hour but she just couldn't stand to get in and let the water touch her skin. It was pouring rain outside and whenever that happened, she found that she had a hard time functioning. Even though it had been months since she got rescued, one of her lasting symptoms was that she was terrified of the rain and she knew there was no way she would be able to make it to the dinner. As she stood in the bathroom, she heard the doorbell chime, it was Tucker and Carson.

She wiped her eyes dry and tightened her robe around her waist and went to open the door. They were their usual cheerful self and she could hear them talking outside when she stopped in front of the door and opened it.

"Hey Liv," they said excitedly until they realized she was upset, "what's wrong?"

"I don't feel well, so I'm not gonna go tonight, sorry I didn't get to call you guys, I'll compensate you guys for your time."

"Oh sweetie, don't worry about it, I'm sorry you aren't feeling well-"

"No, I'm sorry, I didn't get to call you before you came, I'll send you-"

Tucker grabbed onto her hand and held them softly, almost nurturing.

"Don't worry about it okay, just feel better."

She nodded.

"Thank you."

"Take care of yourself Liv, just let us know when you need us again."

"Thanks, I will."

She stepped back quickly and closed her door as they walked down the hallway with their suitcases.

It had rained before, light drizzles through the spring that she was able to somewhat put up with but she hadn't expereince rain that bad since she came back from Iran.

She went to her closet the only room in her apartment without a window and sat with her back against the wall. A couple hours went by, she heard her phone ringing, it was Fitz no doubt, calling to ask her where she was, she was supposed to have arrived at the white house almost a half hour earlier. She was sure the only reason he hadn't called her earlier was because he was so busy. The phone almost went to voicemail before she answered.

"Babe, the guards said you haven't left yet, are you okay?"

"I'm not coming, I don't feel well."

"What's wrong, did you have a migraine or something?"

"Uh yeah," a sniffle escaped and she closed her eyes a prepared for him to freak out.

"Liv are you crying, what's going on?"

"No, I'm fine."

She didn't sound convincing.

"Liv, I'm coming there right now."

"No, you have the dinner."

"So what?"

She took a deep breath, if she was being honest with herself, she wanted him to leave the dinner and come to her but it was selfish and unrealistic to expect him to dump his duties every time she had a panic attack.

"Fitz please, just finish the dinner-"

"Olivia I-"

"Please Fitz, I'm asking you to stay."

He sighed.

"Okay."

She hung up quickly and hoped he would stay like she asked him.

As she sat there, as hard as she tried she couldn't shake the feeling that she somehow couldn't pull enough air into her lungs.

More time passed, just over an hour and then she heard her front door open.

"Why are all the lights off?" She heard Fitz say.

She heard lights being flicked on and footsteps in the apartment.

"Olivia?" he called as he searched through the apartment.

A few minutes later, Fitz walked into the closet and flicked the light on and found her sitting in the corner of the closet with her head rested on her knees.

He ran over to her quickly and dropped to his knees in front of her.

"Livie?"

She picked up her head slowly and wiped her eyes.

"I'm really sorry. I-"

He wrapped his arms around her protectively and it was usually uncomfortable for her to be touched by anyone when she was having her meltdowns but Fitz was different, she let him hold her because she knew he needed it and she needed it too, it felt safe.

"I'm sorry I couldn't make it to the dinner, I was going to call earlier but-"

"It's okay Liv, I don't care about the dinner, what happened to you? Are you okay?"

"I'm really sorry," she said again.

Fitz had no idea why she kept apologizing for the dinner but he realized that she wasn't going to tell him what was wrong.

"Olivia please, you can't expect me to walk in here and see you crying like this and not be worried. You said you had a migraine but I've never seen you cry like this for a migraine. Is it the rain, I know you said you didn't like the rain, I didn't realize it was raining that hard, I've been inside all day."

She didn't respond and he sensed that an apology was about as much of an explanation as he was going to get and decided to acceptit for the night but he planned to press her on it in the morning.

As the time passed, Olivia fell asleep but only for a few hours, when she woke up she was in her bed and Fitz was sitting beside her staring.

"What time is it?" She asked as she sat up.

"It's 3:40."

"Fitz it's late, why are you still up?"

Fitz sighed.

"Don't do that Olivia, you know exactly why I'm still up."

"No I don't, you have a job Fitz, a very important one and you can't stay up all night because you feel like you need to babysit me. I can take care of myself!"

"The last time you told me you didn't need a babysitter and you could take care of yourself you ended up half dead on a hospital bed, is that what you want to happen again?" Fitz said angrily.

"When are you gonna stop throwing that in my face, huh Fitz, do you think it feels good to keep being reminded about something that's both embarrassing and tragic," she said just as angrily.

Fitz felt bad but he knew she was just playing on his guilt to avoid talking about the issue at hand.

"What's your problem Olivia, you promised me that you'd be be more open with me but there's definitely something going on with you that you aren't telling me about, I can feel it-"

"I have been more open with you!"

"Then why do I feel like I have no idea what's going on with you."

"You're overreacting Fitz, you always overreact. I'm fine so just drop it!"

She walked to the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Fitz went to kitchen for a glass of scotch and sat at the dining table waiting for her to come out of the bathroom.

Almost an hour past before he heard the door open. Olivia went to her closet and threw on some shorts and a t shirt and then went to find Fitz. She figured he might have gone to bed but she hoped he didn't because she wanted to talk to him. She found him sitting around the table and walked over and sat on the table in front of him.

Fitz didn't say a word, he just rested his head against her knee, he was exhausted. She stroked his hair gently as she worked up the courage to say what she'd spent 45 minutes in the bathroom convincing herself to say.

"I've been lying to you."

Fitz raised his head and looked at up at her.

"What?"

"I haven't spoken to my therapist since the day of Sahara's birthday party, which is why I've been a little bit weird because I haven't been getting my daily catharsis."

"Why haven't you been speaking with her?"

"I told her about us speaking with her together and she said it would be a good idea only if I was prepared to be honest about what happened when I was taken and I didn't want to so I told her I'd give Lauren her number to set up an appointment then I never called her back and then I lied to you about it."

"Why?"

Olivia let out a soft breath.

"Fitz, when I left that place, I wanted desperately to put everything behind me and it helps that no one else knows what happened there, it makes it easier for me to pretend that it never happened. If you knew what happened there, I just feel like that's all you'd see when you looked at me, you'd look at me with sorrow and pity and it would just kill me so it's better you didn't know, I didn't tell Savannah, or Abby or anyone else and I know you wonder what happened there and I get that, but whatever it was that they did to me, I survived, I don't have anymore physical wounds so it doesn't matter anymore."

"It does matter, it's still affecting you."

"Mentally, it is, but I'm working on that. Last night... was bad, I'll admit that but you can't freak out everytime I have panic attack or something, I understand that you worry but I'm asking you to do this for me."

"You're asking me not to worry about you?"

"No, I'm just saying that sometimes, you know, if I have a meltdown just act normal and once it's over, don't dwell on it, forget about it, that's what I try to do."

Fitz sighed.

"If you don't want to talk about what happened there I'll accept that and if you don't want us to see your therapist together I'll accept that too but that doesn't mean you shouldn't talk to her."

"I will, I'm going to call her."

"Olivia, I worry about you, I can't stop it and I can't make it less intense and I'm not going to. You might be better off pretending Iran didn't happened but I'm not because worrying about keeps you safe, If I had worried about you a little more before you went on that trip then Iran would have never happened."

"Fitz do not say that," she scolded, "no one knew that was going to happen and you sent guards with me who lost their lives trying to protect me, there's nothing else you could have done. They're all dead, so it doesn't matter anymore."

Fitz stood up, he was getting a little agitated.

"Why do you keep saying it does matter anymore, it does! The guys who held you at that facility may be dead but there were others, guys who came and went, guys who worked with Sa'eed and we're going to find them, in fact we've been finding them and killing them one by one, for months now, your father's men included. "

Olivia stood up as well.

"What do you mean you've been finding them?"

"I mean they kidnapped the wrong fucking person. For two whole months they tortured you to tried and get you to build a bomb to blow up the most populated city in this country, my country, I may be your man, but I'm also the president and if you think that I'm not going to hunt down every single animal who so much as knew you were being held in that shit hole and didn't report to the U.S. government then you don't know me."

"So you're investigating?"

"Of course we are, did you think I was just gonna let this go."

Olivia was quiet for a moment.

"Have you seen it?"

Fitz was confused.

"Seen what?"

"Don't lie to me Fitz."

"I'm not, I don't know what you're talking about."

She tried to continue but got choked up and started crying.

"Fitz please, I just want it to be over, just please let it go."

He instinctively grabbed her and wrapped her in his arms and tried to console her and as much as he wanted to tell her what she wanted to hear, he couldn't.

"I'm sorry Liv but I just can't do that, my anger aside about what they did to you, I need to know why they did it and if and when they plan to do it again to you or anyone else, I have to make sure they don't succeed or else everything you suffered through to resist helping them will be for nothing and I know you don't want them to hurt anyone else, I know you want them to pay for what they did and the only way you'll truly be able to put this behind is if you know without a shadow of a doubt that it's over and that they're all gone, I just want you to have peace of mind Olivia, I don't want you to pretend that you have it, I want you to actually believe that you are safe, don't you want that?"

She held onto him a little tighter and wrapped her arms around his waist, he could feel her nodding.

"I love you so much, I don't know what I'd do without."

Fitz was caught a little of guard by her sudden outburst but he wasn't complaining.

"I love you too."

She chuckled and wiped her eyes as she felt him kiss her hair.

"Are you feeling a little less crazy now?" he asked.

She smiled.

"You're right, pretending it didn't happen isn't helping and I knew that but I just didn't want to face it but," she paused, "what do you know that you haven't been telling me?"

"Are you sure you want to know?"

She nodded.

Fitz smiled and kissed her again then wrapped her in a tight bear hug, he was glad she was in a talking mood, he was going to try to get as much out in the open as possible.

"What do you want to know?"

Olivia took a deep breath.

"First, I have to admit something."

Fitz raised his eyebrow.

"What is it?"

"They videotaped what they did to me."

"They videotaped you?"

"I might have hallucinated it but I really think it happened."

Fitz was quiet for a while.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to go looking for it but... I mean maybe they destroyed it, if you're investigating and you haven't found it yet, maybe it's lost or maybe I just hallucinated the entire thing and it didn't happen, I don't know."

He took a deep breath.

"What's on it?"

"Fitz-"

"No Liv, you need to tell me what's on it so I know how bad it will be if it comes out."

"It won't come out, if you haven't heard about it as yet then it won't come out."

"You're doing it again Liv, you're being naive, our relationship is public, if this is out there, it's going to surface, they're terrorists, they're going to be jumping at the bit to get their hands on it if they don't have it already."

"Fitz you can't let them release it," she said in a soft panic.

"I'll call my FBI director first thing in the morning and ask him if he knows anything about a video."

Olivia sighed.

"You know you have to tell me what's on the video right, it's not a question anymore, I've been trying not to dig into any details of what happened in the facility, even when I was present for interrogation of some of the guys that were there, and I did that because I knew you didn't want me to know and I wanted to respect your privacy, I only wanted to know if you were the one who told me but this is different, I need to know what's on that video so I'm not blindsided if it does come out."

He could see that she was going to get emotional so he held her.

"Olivia, you're never going to be the object of my pity, I worry about you and I regret that this happened to you but I love you, empathy for someone you love is not a bad thing, I know the way your dad raised you may be the reason you think that, but he's wrong.

Olivia took a deep breath and took a moment to compose herself.

"They recorded me once to send it to my father, Sa'eed was there, he was talking to my dad on the phone, arguing really, he was angry that I wasn't doing what they paid for me to do."

"What did they do to you?"

"They -" Olivia's words broke and stopped and pressed her head into his chest because she couldn't continue.

Fitz couldn't watch her struggle to say it so he gave up. He realized that it wasn't because she didn't want to share, it was just too hard for her and he understood that.

"It's okay, you don't have to say it, I'll try to fix it," his voice was broken but then he composed himself and tried to lighten his tone, " just don't cry, don't ever cry, that's a rule now."

Olivia looked up at him and smiled as she wiped her eyes.

"Since when?"

"Since just now."

He saw another tear stream down her cheek.

"You're breaking the rules, I'm the president and you're breaking my rules," he said as used his thumbs to dry her wet cheeks.

She chuckled.

"I thought you were my man?"

"I'm both, now no more crying, do you want me to make you something, I know you must be hungry."

"Fitz you can't cook."

"I can cook, I made you a meal for you birthday last year, you ate the whole thing remember and I can make pasta, I can make tea, coffee, sandwiches."

"I'll take a sandwich."

"Okay peanut butter and jelly."

He took her hand and walked her to the kitchen.

"Let me warn you though, I'm usually too heavy or too light on the peanut butter, it's never perfect."

She shook her head and laughed.

"Surprise me."

She stood by as he gathered the ingredients and made the sandwich. By the time he was finished and she took a bite she realized he'd have an easier time just eating the peanut butter straight from the jar because Fitz put so much peanut butter on the sandwich that the bread kept getting stuck to her gums and there was barely any jam.

"Fitz who can't make a decent peanut butter sandwich, I mean this is like 1st grade stuff," she said with a chuckle.

"I can make a peanut butter sandwich, it just doesn't taste good and I can cook, I just wouldn't advise you to eat it."

Olivia laughed, wholeheartedly, it was almost as if their emotionally charged conversation that took place moment earlier had never happened.

She didn't finish the sandwich and ended up eating a yogurt and then they headed back to the bedroom and got under the covers. She rested her head on his chest and traced her fingers lazily over his torso.

"So… how was the dinner last night?"

"Same old except for the fact that I left before it was over, Cyrus is going to kill me, or he might not because he's really happy about the whole VP thing, I think he'll let me slide."

"So uhm, are you excited for your vacation?"

"Only cause you're gonna be here," he said with a smile.

She chuckled.

"Please tell me where we're going?"

"Nope."

"Please, please, please. Just a clue."

Fitz smiled.

"It's gonna be very comfy."

"That's not a clue, if you don't tell me I'm just gonna ask Cyrus? Is it on your island? Where is that by the way?"

"It's off the Caroline islands archipelago," he said with a smile.

"Near French Polynesia and Hawaii?"

"Yep."

"Did you name it, people like to name their islands."

"It's not mine, well technically it is but my grandfather bought it for a steal back in the 70's, he called it Isle Amabella, after my great grandmother."

"Amabella, that's such a pretty name."

"The island is beautiful, it's been artificially landscaped, there are waterfalls and a hot mineral bath, caves, fruit trees and flowers everywhere, I'm not gonna get into too much detail but it's great when you see it you'll love it."

"It's sounds great but if we aren't going there, where are we going?"

"We're going to Aspen, I have a cottage on the Aspen Hillside, we're gonna go hiking, there's a pool, I think you'll like it."

"Yay, finally, was that so hard," she chuckled, "now I know what to pack."

He laughed.

"I would've given you hints on what to bring."

"Hints, very helpful," she said sarcastically.

"What would be very helpful is if you'd start staying at the whitehouse with me so I don't have to come here all the time."

"You don't like coming here?"

"No, I love coming here, it's very homely, but I'd love more of you'd stay with me sometimes."

"Is that you really want?"

"Yes, I'm not saying you have to live with me, but just keep some things over there like I do here so you can just stay the night whenever you want too."

Olivia pondered.

"Hmmm, well you have been asking about it for a long time."

"A very long time," Fitz added.

"Okay I'll bring some stuff over."

"When?"

"I'll surprise you."

"No, tell me."

"Nope, now you know how it feels. One night, you'll come home and I'll just jump out from somewhere and scare the shit out of you."

Fitz smiled.

"That actually sounds exciting, I want you to do it."

"You got it, and remember I'm going to New York tomorrow morning."

"Oh great."

She rolled her eyes.

"You've known for a week and I'll only be gone during the day, I'll be back in the night."

"You mean a year?"

"I'm bringing Sahara back with me so she can spend a night and you can meet her, Abby coming back with me too which is good, she's going to take the train back with Sahara."

"Abby's coming?"

"Yeah, well I told her Stephen is seeing someone and she says and I quote; 'she's coming to ruin their relationship'."

"Why?" Fitz said as he laughed.

"She's always had a thing for Stephen."

"Oh well, I can't wait to meet Sahara for the second time, I hope she likes me."

"She does, remember when you came to my apartment, she ran up to you and wanted you to hold her, she doesn't just do that to everyone you know.

"Yeah but I still need to impress her, maybe I could buy her something, like a little tricycle or something with a princess on it?"

"She's spoiled enough."

"No child is ever spoiled enough."

She smiled.

"Is that how you'd spoil our kids?"

"Of course," Fitz said with a smile.

They chatted until Fitz fell asleep. Olivia stay up a while longer, reflecting on the fact that in the space of a single conversation, she felt infinitely closer to him. She felt like a 100lb weight had been lifted off her shoulders since she told him about the video and she hoped if it in fact it did exist, he'd be able to find it...


	45. Chapter 45

Olivia woke up to the sound of Fitz's wake up call a little after 6:45. She looked over at Fitz and he didn't even flinch at the sound of his alarm, he was dead to the world and rightfully so, he'd been up for most of the night worrying about her. He fell asleep a little before 6 am, she followed shortly after, but she had barely closed her eyes before she heard the alarm.

She was a little foggy from her short nap so she took a moment to collect herself. She gazed at Fitz and felt a smiled tug on her lips as he yawned and stretched in sleep. He was way too tired to go anywhere and she didn't want him to. She thought quickly of what to do but then she realized that Cyrus was most likely up so she took Fitz's cell and dialed him and waited for him to pick up.

"Fitz, what's going on?"

"It's Olivia."

"Hello, my favorite person in the world."

"I'm glad you think so because Fitz probably won't be able to come to the white house till maybe noon... probably."

She was very vague with her promise and she did so on purpose.

"Why not?"

"Because he is knocked out, he's really tired and people die when they don't get enough sleep so he's sleeping and I'm not waking him," what started as a plea morphed into a declaration, "does he have a busy day today?"

"He had a few morning meetings but I can push them back."

"Thank Cy."

"No later than 12pm sharp because he has an interview about this Sally mess at 2 and I'm only doing this because you put in a good word for me with the whole vp thing or else I'd be making my way over there to drag him out of your bed"

She chuckled and yawned.

"Thanks, he'll be there by 12... maybe, scout's honor."

She hung up and threw the phone on top of the sheet then rest her head back in his chest. She wished it was bare so she could admire his abs and gaze at scar, it reminded her how lucky she was to have been stuck at James Madison hospital that night in July almost a year ago. She knew she needed to thank Cyrus for forcing her to stay at the hospital, she would have never met Fitz and got to know how wonderful he was.

She couldn't sleep so she laid quietly thinking to herself and listening to Fitz's heartbeat in his chest and before she knew it a couple hours passed and Fitz stirred in his sleep then jumped up.

"What time is it?"

"It's 8:40," she said she checked the time on his phone, hers was in the closet.

"Shit, shit, shit, I should've been up hours ago."

He was about to get out of bed but Olivia stopped him.

"Don't worry babe, I called Cyrus, I told him you're coming in at 12, he moved at your meetings and briefings."

Fitz breathed a sigh of relief and then smiled.

"Thanks, have you seen my phone?"

"I have it," she said as she handed it to him.

He took it and stood up as dialed his Intel chief and waited until he picked up.

"Hey John, have any of your agents come across anything in regards to a video from the yazd facility counterintelligence investigation?"

Olivia watched as the director spoke something through the phone that she couldn't hear.

"Nothing specific, just any visual or audio recording that was swept up in the raid from the facility?"

Fitz listened again.

"Find out, I want to be the first to know."

Fitz nodded as he listened then he hung up moments after.

"What did he say?" Olivia asked anxiously.

"They haven't heard of a video."

Olivia breathed a sigh of relief.

"That doesn't mean it doesn't exist," Fitz added.

"Yeah but at least it's not out there, which is good right?"

He instinctively walked over to her and caressed her face.

"It could-"

Fitz's phone rang in his hand, he looked at the caller ID, it was Gerry so he answered.

"Hey Gerr, can I call you back in-"

"Dad, turn on the tv right now, dad, right now," Gerry said quickly.

Fitz turned around quickly and headed to the living room, Olivia followed even though she had no idea what was going on.

Fitz grabbed the remote quickly and turned the tv on, then switched to the news.

" **-Why did you wait one whole month to come forward with the revelation that your ex-husband president Grant and Olivia Pope were in a relationship while you were still married to him."**

 **Mellie sniffled**

" **I was hurt, I loved my ex husband, I still do and when he made his relationship with the woman he had an affair with public, I was shocked, it took me some time to get over that but I felt I owed it to the world, to women who feel used and are told to just shut up and take it because their partner is wealthy or powerful, I'm really here for them, a man shouldn't be able to do what he wants and get away with it, especially when he is the president of the United States and has to lead by example."**

" **Why do you think your husband was unfaithful to you."**

" **Fitz had never cheated before, he never even flirted with another woman before, I think when he woke up from that coma, he was vulnerable, after all he'd just been shot and I think Olivia Pope knew he was vulnerable. She told us herself that after his injury he wouldn't be able to control impulses and emotions and I think that she used that to take advantage of him. She was his doctor, he trusted her, I trusted her, even when she would tell us that I couldn't be in the same room with them for evaluations and exams, now I see that she used that trust to seduce him."**

" **Do you have evidence of their affair?"**

" **She admitted it to me, quite glibly, she was unashamed of it."**

" **So you don't have any physical proof of the affair?"**

" **No, only what I've seen with my own eyes and heard with my own ears."**

" **Some might argue that you are just a jealous ex wife, this is a woman who saved the life of your ex husband and brought your son back from paralysis, she a very well known doctor and in the month since their relationship became public many people have come forward as a character witness, attesting to the fact that she is a good and kind person, don't you think you owe the public proof or better yet do you think it was the right thing to do to make this accusation publicly without proof?"**

" **I think the very fact that she entered into a relationship with someone who was both her patient and the father of her patient is a testament to her character, it is unethical for doctors to be romantically involved with a patient, many doctors have had their license revoked for less."**

" **A romantic relationship between a doctor and patient is in fact seen as widely unethical and well there you have it, former First Lady Mellie Grant with some very shocking allegations about the President Grant and Olivia Pope. We will take a short break as we request a statement from the whitehouse."**

Fitz and Olivia stood in the middle of the living room in disbelief, both unsure of what to do next.

"Hello, dad, you still there?" Gerry asked.

Fitz cleared his throat.

"Where is your mother?"

"She's in the living room with the news crew, I woke up earlier and I was going to the kitchen for breakfast when I saw the news crew, I didn't know why there were here until she started the interview. She was really mad that I went to Olivia's lecture and didn't tell her, I didn't know she was this mad."

Fitz sighed.

"Gerry, I have to go but let me know if she plans anything else."

"Okay dad."

As Fitz hung up, he got an incoming call from Cyrus and answered quickly.

"Yes Cyrus, I heard it, I'll be there as soon as I can."

Olivia heard her phone ringing from the closet and ran to get it. She saw that it was Abby and answered quickly.

"Yes Abby, I saw it and I'm gonna have to call you back."

Meanwhile back in the living room Fitz dialed Mellie, she picked up immediately which told him she was expecting his call.

"You know I'm gonna get you back for this right?"

"No, you're not, you're not gonna tell anyone about Nolan and me because it would hurt the person you love most in the world, Gerry."

"You're wrong, there are two people I love most in the world and you just fucked with one of them."

Fitz hung up and when he turned around Olivia was standing behind him.

"I told you how sexy I think your temper tantrums are," she said with a smile.

He smiled even though he felt like punching a wall.

"What are we gonna do about this?" She asked.

"I have an interview at 2, I'll shut it down, can you meet me at the whitehouse at 1, I just want you to be in the loop with everything before we go ahead and do it."

"Okay."

Fitz kissed her and went to shower and while he did that, Olivia called Savannah.

"Olivia?"

"Hi Savannah,"

"I'm very angry with you."

"Are you angry or therapist angry where you can't really be angry because you're afraid it will traumatize me?"

She heard Savannah chuckle.

"Therapist angry. Why haven't you been returning my calls?"

"That's why I called, I wanted to get back in my daily schedule because we have a lot to talk about."

"We do, you and the president made your relationship public, that's a big step."

"Yeah and it's been going pretty well so far but we're dealing with something of a crisis right now so I just called to check in, we will have a full session tomorrow, I'll tell you everything, I think you'll be proud of me, I made real progress with Fitz last night."

"Olivia are you just saying that, or will you answer the phone when I call?"

"No, I promise."

"Okay, it was really great hearing from you and I look forward to our talk tomorrow."

"I do too, bye."

Olivia hung up and brushed her teeth while Fitz was in the shower and then went to the kitchen to make coffee. By the time, Fitz got out the shower and quickly got dressed, he had a hot cup waiting for him. When he walked into the kitchen in a partially button dress shirt and pant, Olivia handed him the coffee.

"Wow, you made me coffee?" He asked with smile.

"You slept for 2 hours and 54 minutes this morning and on top of that Mellie handed us a steaming pile of turd, you need coffee because it's going to be a long day."

He smiled and took a sip of his coffee.

"You're handling it pretty well, I thought you'd be angrier."

"I could be angry but I know that's what she wants, I don't know, I guess I just want to see how this all plays out, what you say in your interview later is going to be a big part of that."

"I know that's why I want you there so you can keep me in check so I don't do anything crazy because what I really want to do is sit in the interview and embarrass her."

She chuckled.

"What makes you think I won't let you?"

"Because your even-tempered and logical… sometimes."

"Shut up."

Fitz smiled and took another sip of his coffee and quickly finished getting dressed and then brought his tie over for Olivia to tie around his neck. As she made the knot, she felt Fitz staring and she look up and met his ocean blue daggers head on.

"What?" She asked with a smile.

"We made real progress last night right?"

She finished the knot and then wrapped her arms around his neck.

"We did."

She stretched up and kissed him softly at first and then she deepened it to a slow, sensual dance of their tongues. As they kissed, Fitz felt her slap his ass then grab it.

"Woah," he said with a chuckle.

"I love you."

She kissed him again.

"I love you too."

She buttoned his jacket and then walked him to the door and saw him off.

After he left, Olivia made herself busy for a couple hours before she showered and headed to her closet to get dressed.

"What to wear, what to wear," she said to herself.

She skimmed through her racks of clothes and opted for fitted white strapless dress that stopped about the knees and a sheer white long sleeve overlay, both from Chloe and she didn't feel like wearing heels so she settled on her favorite brown Gucci Princetown slipper.

She curled her hair and did her makeup then grabbed her Hermes bag and called her guards to escort her down.

Olivia stood in the elevator as she made her way down to the lobby of her building. The elevator dinged as she stepped out and walked across her lobby to the exit where the press was waiting for her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she walked out and the questions flooded her.

" **Dr. Pope is true, did you and the president have an affair?"**

" **Did the president cheat on his ex-wife with you?"**

" **Is Mellie Grant lying?"**

" **Do you have any comment?"**

Olivia blocked it out and tried to hurry to the car. She was only a couple feet away from the car when from the corner of her eye, she saw a man duck under the rail and dived in between the guards and grabbed her around her waist and her lift her into the air.

"Let me go!" she screamed frantically.

It was a random man, he was dressed in jeans and he had on a t shirt with her face on it.

"I love you Olivia. Olivia I love you."

The secret service almost instantaneously grabbed him and pried him off of her.

"Get off of her!" she heard one of her guards yell.

"I love you Olivia, please marry me, I have a ring" he continued screaming as they held him face down on the ground. The man tired reaching in his pocket for the ring but he was restrained.

"Please just let me show her the ring - I have a ring for you Olivia, Please."

The press was eating it up and got more chaotic as they tried to capture the entire exchange.

Josh picked her up and carried her to the car and once Olivia was in the car she started crying. She looked down at her feet and noticed her shoes fell off.

"Miss Pope are you okay?" she heard Josh ask as he checked her for any injuries and slipped her Gucci mules on her feet.

She wiped her eyes.

"I'm fine just take me to Fitz."

"We're heading there now ma'am."

The minute Fitz stepped out of his briefing in the situation room, Tom hurried up to him.

"Sir, Ms. Pope was just attacked, she is fine, her agents are bringing her to the residence right now."

"Wait, what, what do you mean attacked," Fitz said frantically.

"She's okay, just shaken up, the agents are taking her up resid-" Tom paused as he listened to his earpiece, "she's in the residence right now sir, they just got there."

"Who attacked her?"

"A man, he have him in custody."

Fitz didn't wait to respond, that was all he needed to hear before he rushed straight to the residence.

"Where is she?" Fitz said to the first guard he came across.

"She's on the balcony sir."

Fitz walked quickly to the balcony to find her looking out at the park.

"Liv?"

She turned around, even though it was obvious that she had been crying, there was a smile on her face.

Fitz took a sigh of relief and walked over and wrapped his arms around her tightly and kissed her on her temple.

"Are you okay, Tom said you weren't hurt?"

"No, I'm not hurt, I'm fine now, I was just freaked out."

"What happened?"

"Well, I was walking out of my building and I almost made it to the car when - I kinda saw the guy from the corner of my eye, he rushed under the barrier and grabbed me and lifted me in the air, he had a t-shirt with my face on it, he was begging me to marry and telling me how much he loved me, it was kinda surreal."

"So he was crazy?"

"About me, obviously, but he might have also been mentally ill," she said with a chuckle.

"This is not funny, what if he'd hurt you?"

"He didn't, the guards made sure of it, he barely got his hands on me before they had him on the floor so no need to antagonize them about this."

"I fully intend of finding out how anyone even got close enough to you to touch so I'm pretty sure I'll end up screaming at your guards."

She chuckled.

"And let me guess a manhunt is underway too."

"I don't have to conduct a manhunt if we already have him in custody, he picked the wrong woman to obsess with, you're mine and mine alone to obsess about."

"You aren't gonna charge him though are you?"

"Of course, I'm definitely making sure he gets charged with something, make an example of him so no one else feels the need to try."

"I guess he did pick the wrong person to mess with," she said with a smile, "oh and I spoke with Abby, I'm not gonna bother going to New York with everything that's going on, she'll bring Sahara tomorrow to visit."

"That's perfect, does she need me to send the plane or something?"

"No, they're taking the train," she said.

Fitz was a little skeptical that she was able to handle it so well.

"Are you sure your okay?" He asked.

"Honestly earlier when he grabbed me, immediately I went back to the night in Ethiopia when they pulled me from my tent but once Josh took me to the car and I was able to breathe a little, I calmed down but I just needed to see you."

Fitz was still skeptical and he hoped she wasn't just saying that to make him feel better and Olivia could sense it.

"You don't believe me," she said as her mouth fell open, not in an angry way but in a challenged way.

"No, I belie-"

She cut him off.

"I've only ever been in love with one person and that's you. I've never told this to anyone except my therapist," she paused, "but when I was in Iran, do you know who I thought about every single day?"

She looked at him suggestive and waited for him to answer.

Fitz smiled shyly, "Me?"

"Yes, I'd think about if you were in a meeting or if you were writing a bill and arguing with congress, or if you were hanging out with Gerry, if you were sleeping enough and eating steak and scotch like I asked you _not_ to. I'd think about what our kids would look like, what their names would be, we had a daughter and son. Every time I fell asleep, I dreamed that you rescued me, it was the same dream really, you break down the door with your bare hands and you killed all the bad guys, and you know I abhor violence but they were pretty bad people so I think violence was appropriate, you wore a tux and you had your hair gelled like James Bond, I know that's a ridiculous dream but in my defense, I hallucinated alot," she paused and wiped her eyes and smiled, she hadn't realized she was crying, "I'm telling you this because it's really important to me that you to know how much I love you and need you and count on you. I don't know if I give you the impression that I don't but if I do then I'm sorry because I do need you. I've never had this before, growing up when my father didn't give me love or show me affection unless he was trying to get something from me, I started to think that maybe I didn't deserve love as I was, but you changed that, you make me feel loved everyday, even when I was on a cold floor in a cell in Iran and I had absolutely nothing to offer you I still felt that you loved me."

Fitz opened his mouth to speak but no words came out, it made Olivia smile.

"Speechless, that's a first."

Fitz shook his head and chuckled.

"I-" Fitz still couldn't find the words to describe or respond to what he'd just heard.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and he pressed his forehead against hers. They stood silently and shared the moment together until they were interrupted by the sound of Cyrus clearing his throat.

"Liv, I heard what happened, are you okay kiddo?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said as she stepped back from Fitz.

"Okay, Fitz we need to finish prepping for that interview, it's the first one since Sally and with Mellie's announcement to the world, we need to be prepared."

"Give me a minute," Fitz said even though his eyes never left Olivia.

Cyrus saw how he was looking at Olivia and he knew that look all too well.

"Nope, it won't be a minute, it will be an hour, everytime you look at her like that you two disappear and come back after doing god knows what, not today, I'm breaking you two up right now, you can get all hot and bothered later."

Olivia laughed.

"Go," she said to Fitz, "I need to fix my face, I'll meet you in your office."

Fitz smiled and kissed her over and over again, unwilling let her go.

"I love you so much," he inched a little closer and whispered so Cyrus couldn't hear, "we're going balls deep tonight baby," then he kissed her again.

"My ovaries," she said as she laughed.

Cyrus pretended he didn't hear what Fitz said and dragged him out the room.

Once Fitz left she went to the bathroom to fix her face and headed to the kitchen to grab something to eat then she went to meet Fitz in his office.

He was getting touched up by a team of stylists.

The moment she stepped in, he sent the team away.

"Who are you getting dolled up for?" She teased.

"America."

She walked over kissed him in the cheek, Fitz sniffed her as she took a step back.

"What, do I stink or something?"

"No, you smell like berries."

She smiled.

"I just went down to the kitchen and had a parfait and a blueberry fruit tart, it was delicious."

"So that's where you were."

An assistant knocked on the door.

"Come in," Fitz called.

A woman walked in with a clipboard in her hand.

"'Mr. president, it's time."

"Thanks Carla, I'll be right there."

She exited quickly and awkwardly which made Olivia smile, she was still getting used to the fact that everyone was antsy around Fitz.

"It's showtime," he said with a smile as he took her hand and led her out and down the hall to the sit room. Cyrus met them as they walked there.

She watched as Fitz shook the hands of his interviewer and made himself comfortable in the couch. The elephant in the room was the fact that Olivia was there but no one said a word. She stood in the corner behind the cameras with Cyrus as they waited for the interview to begin.

"We are hot," one of the camera hands called out.

The journalist cleared his throat and begin.

"Hello everyone, I'm Robert Stengel and I'm here with president Grant, thank for taking your time to talk with me Mr. president."

"Anytime Rob," Fitz said with his charming smile.

"So there has been a lot going on, let me first begin say that, the video of the bystander who hassled Dr. Pope has gone viral and we have no word yet if she okay, can you confirm that she has not been injured or hurt?"

Olivia found it funny that he asked that because he saw her and knew she was okay but she guessed he was asking for the viewers.

"She was shaken up but she's okay now."

Rob nodded and continued.

"Good, we all all glad to hear. Former Vice President Sally Langston announced her run for the presidency three days ago, did you know before she announced?"

"I did not, I was briefed after she announced."

"What are your thoughts, is there a sense of betrayal?"

"Ehh I wouldn't call it betrayal, I expect more loyalty to United states government than to me and by that standard she didn't betray me, it's certainly unprecedented for a vice president to run against their president for office but everyone has their ambition and I suppose the oval office is hers whether I'm still in office or not."

"Yes but to run against the president who you served, many people see that as a betrayal, it's peculiar that you don't."

"Don't get me wrong, I would have hoped to have not been blindsided, I was certainly surprised, there was no bad blood between us, I treated her with respect and admiration and we had a meeting the day before the announcement and she gave me no inkling as to what she was planning but like I said, everyone has their ambition and she is free to follow hers, I'd wish her the best of luck but obviously I'm saving that luck for myself."

Rob chuckled.

"There have been reports that former vice president Langston didn't approve of your relationship with Dr. Pope and that was the nail in the coffin for her decision."

"I'm a divorced man. Period. If that's true, I'm not sure what she doesn't approve of or how it's her business."

"Well said, Mr. President, and that takes me to the other huge story that has been making headlines all over the world in a matter of hours, your ex wife, former first lady Mellie Grant made some very shocking allegations this morning, she accused you of having an affair with Dr. Olivia Pope, do you care to comment?"

"Well yes I do, I don't insert myself into my ex-wife's private affairs, I give her the respect and privacy she deserves as my once lawfully wedded wife and the mother of my child and I had hoped she would reciprocate, that being said her allegations are baseless and intended to defame Olivia Pope and I'm not sure why because Olivia is a kind and compassionate person, she brought our son back from paralysis and we are forever indebted to her for everything she's done for our family. I think what Mellie did today was cruel."

"Why do you think she would make these allegations?"

"I don't care to speculate."

"When your divorce was announced, Olivia Pope wasn't in the country and hadn't been for weeks, she had left for a doctors without border trip from which she was subsequently abducted and held for many months, many thought she had died, how is it that your ex-wife blames Dr. Pope for a divorce that she wasn't even present for?"

Fitz looked back at Olivia to see if she was okay and she nodded to let him know she was fine then he turned his attention back to Rob.

"Like I said Rob, I'm not sure how she came to that conclusion and I'd rather not speculate."

"Mellie Grant thinks your relationship with Dr. Pope is inappropriate because she was once your physician, do you have a comment on that?"

"I think the ethics guideline was intended for general practitioners and their current patients, I hadn't been Olivia Pope's patient for almost 10 months before our relationship became romantic in nature, I think it's quite the stretch to suggest any ethical guidelines were broken or to question the integrity of Dr. Pope, given she's done nothing wrong."

"Do you think Mellie Grant owes you and Dr. Pope an apology since she can't provide evidence to back up her claim?"

"I think it's not my place to tell anyone what to apologize for but she is free to do so and I have no further comment on the subject."

Rob nodded and changed the subject.

"Do you expect vice president nominee Cyrus Beene to be confirmed through the senate in the vote next week?"

"I fully expect Cyrus to pass through the senate, he is qualified, he is smart and he's a patriot and I can't wait to have him by my side as my vice president and luckily he'll only be able to run for the presidency when I'm on my way out."

Robert chuckled.

"Many praise your change to an independent candidate as a brilliant political move, while other from your own party say that it just confirms that you were never dedicated to the party, any response on why you made the change and why now?"

"I think that people evolve and that's okay, what you promise to do or what you plan to do, almost always changes when it's time to actually govern. I've had an easier time working with the democrats than most in my own party and so keeping in mind that my loyalty is to my country before my party, I think as an independent I'll better be able to reach across both aisle and achieve better results for the American people, anyone who has an issue with getting results for the American people, I'm unsure of what to tell them to balm their wounds."

"Thank you for taking the time to speak with me today President Grant."

Robert stood up and shook Fitz's hand.

"Thank you Rob, it was great seeing you, congratulations on the baby."

"Thank you Mr. President."

Fitz took off his mic and handed it to an assistant then walked over to Cyrus and Olivia.

"That was great Fitz, you struck the perfect tone, gracious and above the fray," Cyrus said excitedly.

"Liv, any commentary?" Fitz asked.

She smiled.

"That was really… shady, I loved it."

Fitz chuckled.

"Come on, let's go to the residence, we have some very important things we need to take care of."

Fitz and Olivia headed out the door and Cyrus followed.

"Why don't we go to the Oval, why are we going to the residence?" asked Cyrus.

Olivia and Fitz smiled slyly as they waited for Cyrus to catch on.

"By we, you don't mean me, do you?"

"Nope," Fitz said with a smile, "pack up all my briefings and leave them on my desk, I'll read them later and also have Lauren stop by Olivia's apartment and grab some of her stuff, she won't be going home tonight, my next meeting is 4:30, I'll be back before then."

Cyrus sighed.

"One more week till the senate vote and I won't be your chief of staff anymore."

"Speaking of chief of staff, how's the hunt for a new one going?"

"Good, I'll have some choices on your desk by Monday."

"Great Cy, you're the best!"

Fitz took Olivia's hand they went happily to the residence.


	46. Chapter 46

Fitz woke up at his usual time of 6 in the morning. Olivia was sleeping peacefully beside him, with the blanket covering up to her nose. He sat up, her back was turned to him from their spooning position so he leaned over and moved the blanket from her face so nothing was blocking her airway and kissed her bare shoulder.

"Morning Livie," he whispered softly into her hair.

He stood up and stretched, he could feel his morning erection throbbing, no doubt from his dream about everything they'd done to each other during the night. He looked around at the articles of clothing all over the room that they'd thrown on the floor after they came back from the oval late in the night and had another round.

He looked around for her underwear, he distinctly remembered removing it because he did so with his teeth.

"Looking for these?" Olivia asked as she held out her black lace cheekies for him.

He hadn't realized she'd woken up and turned around and smiled.

"Did I wake you when I got off the bed?"

She sat up, revealing her naked breasts barely covered by the blanket.

"Yes."

She stood up and walked on the huge king sized bed over to him and stopped in front of him. He took a moment to admire her naked body, he could still see the trail of dark purple love bites he left in between her thighs from the night before.

Olivia knelt on the bed before him and looked down at his morning wood before she smiled and kissed him.

"I think we've been dreaming about the about the same thing," she said softly.

Fitz smirked.

"Prove it," he challenged.

Olivia looked up at him, quite innocently, he was a little taken aback by her expression but then in stark contrast she grabbed his hand and reintroduced his fingers to her vagina. She was soaked.

"Do you feel that?"

Fitz ran his fingers up and down her slit, bathing them in her juice.

"I'm never not dripping wet at the thought of you inside me," she said seductively.

He pushed her back on the bed so she was laying flat with her legs spread open.

"Now if only it was your cock inside me, instead of your fingers teasing me…"

Fitz smirked dangerously.

"You love talking dirty don't you?"

"I do," she teased.

He brushed his finger against her clit as he brought them to her mouth, he saw her quiver, she was still a little sore from what the'd done the night before. He stuff both fingers in her mouth and watched her suck them as he drove them in and out of her mouth then kissed down her body hungrily while he kept her mouth busy with his fingers. He stopped between her legs and took one hard, deliberate lick down her slit before he gave her clit a hard suck and then stopped.

"Shit," Olivia screamed.

Fitz shoved his fingers back in her mouth and then wrapped his hands around his cock and stroked himself before he buried it inside.

He could feel how swollen she was and he knew she wouldn't last more than a few minutes but unfortunately when she was swollen and hot and wet around him, he couldn't last either.

His dream had been enough foreplay for him, all he wanted now was to burst and spill his cum inside her but not before he watched her cum for him, her pleasure always came before his own.

He held on to her waist to steady her as he thrusted into her and watched as she stretched for him wantingly, he leaned down and kissed her.

She dug her fingernails into his ass and shoved him deeper.

"Deeper baby, I want to feel every inch of you inside me," she whimpered into his mouth.

He stopped and pulled out and the turned her face down, ass up and entered her again and slapped her ass as he stroked her full tilt.

"Fuck!" Fitz grunted angrily as he realized he hopeless to stop his impending orgasm.

He looked down at Olivia, her ass red from his slaps, her toes curled, back arched, fingers hanging onto the sheets for dear life, she was just as hopeless as him.

"Oh yes, just like tha-" she gasped and became speechless as her orgasm took her mid sentence.

As if the visual imagery of Olivia orgasming on his cock wasn't enough to send him over the edge, the feeling of it threw him over a cliff and he spread her ass cheeks open as he emptied himself in her.

He pulled out and stepped back and watched as his seed ran down her slit and gathered in excess around her clit before it dripped onto the sheets. She still had her back arched and her ass perched in the air because she knew he liked to watch the show after the finished.

When she no longer felt it dripping , she turned around and laid flat on her back. She looked up at Fitz, who was gazing absently at her.

"Kiss me," she said softly.

Fitz stepped forward and dropped himself on top of her and kissed her as she giggled wildly.

"I love you," she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and ran her hands through his curls.

"I love you too."

Olivia let out a long breath.

"Oh my god... that was just... amazing, Fitz you can't keep doing this to me, it should be illegal but I love it so much, I'm addicted," she said breathlessly.

He lifted her in the air and threw her over his shoulders, "good," he said as he carried her to the bathroom, she squealed and laughed all the way there.

They brushed their teeth and showered then headed to the closet to get dressed. Lauren dropped a few garment bags of her clothes along with some underwear, toiletries and shoes from her apartment in yesterday's evening. She opened the garment bags and looked through at what Lauren brought. She was glad Lauren was practical, she mostly packed pants and shirts which would have to do until she brought some stuff over herself.

She looked through the bag of underwear Lauren packed and chuckled.

"What happened?" Asked Fitz.

"Nothing, I just thought about how awkward it was for Lauren to pack my underwear and bring them here."

Olivia held up a white Calvin Klein thong to Fitz.

"What underwear are you wearing?"

Fitz lifted his shirt and looked.

"Calvins."

Olivia smiled.

"Perfect, we'll match."

Fitz finished getting dressed in his Brooks Brothers suit and Olivia threw on a pair of skinny khaki chinos from Theory and a white oversized cotton button from J crew. She looked throw the shoes Lauren packed and prayed there were a pair of flats somewhere in there.

"Yay," she said as she spotted her black Chanel flats.

"Livie?"

She turned around and Fitz held up two ties.

"Which one?"

"Striped."

He handed her the striped tie and she tied it around his neck.

"I'll be tying you up with this later mister."

Fitz laughed.

"I look forward to it."

He kissed her once on the lips and then settled his hands around her hips.

"What are your plans for today?" He asked.

"I have some work to do on my laptop for a few hours, I have to call Savannah for a session at 11, Abby and Sahara should arrive around noon, so my afternoon is pretty much gonna revolve around Sahara."

"I can't wait to meet her," Fitz said with a smile.

"What are your plans?"

"Briefing at 9, I'm going to a hospital to visit a wounded soldier at 10, listening session at 11:30, I have a break at 12:15, you should bring Sahara by, then I'm meeting with my cabinet members at 1, I have a few important phone calls and other things I'm working on throughout and also I'm still waiting to see what Mellie next move is."

"When was the interview broadcast?"

"Last night at 8, so all the morning shows will be picking it up."

"I'm interested to see what her response will be," Olivia said with a smirk.

"Me too," Fitz kissed her again, "come on, breakfast should be ready."

He took her hand and led her out to the balcony to the delicious breakfast spread laid out for them with pretty much everything she could think off.

"Wow, this looks great."

Fitz sat at the table and took a copy of the daily newspaper and skimmed through as he drank coffee and ate a bagel with butter.

Olivia took a strawberry tart and walked to the railing and looked out at the park.

"You have a great view baby."

"The best in the world…"

Olivia sensed he was talking about something different. She looked back and saw him eyeing her ass and chuckled.

"I'm talking about the park Fitz, not my butt."

He smirked.

"I was."

He dropped the newspaper on the table and walked over to her and wrapped her arms around her waist and kissed the crook of her neck. He couldn't focus on whatever he was reading while she there so he didn't even bother.

"I'm gonna head to the Oval now but I just want you to know that while I'm working today, all I'll be able to think about is the image of my cum dripping slowly out of your pussy."

Olivia smiled mischievously and turned to face.

"I expect nothing less."

He smiled again and kissed her.

"I love you."

He walked over to the table and took another bite of his bagel.

"I love you too, make good decisions," she said as he headed out.

She heard him laugh as he walked away.

Olivia tarried a while on the balcony and nibbled at a few different pastures before she went to work on her laptop; checking her emails and working on her plan for the lab once it was finished and ready for her takeover and also working on her final millennium equation which she usually did for a half hour or so per day.

As she worked, she stopped twice to call Abby and find out how the train ride was going but for the most part she was focused on work. Once it was time to call Savannah, she rested her laptop on the couch and dialed Savannah.

"Morning Savannah."

"Hi Liv, I'm really happy you called, I saw Mellie Grant's announcement, how are you doing with that?"

"I'm fine, it's not as bad as you think, you know, I sort of expected that from her and the news is going to cover it for a while and then they'll move on, unless she has proof, she'll come out of this looking worse than me and Fitz."

"That's true I suppose, what about that crazy man that hassled you, I know that must've brought back memories for you. I emailed you last night when I found out."

"I just responded. It did bring back memories for me and I was honest with Fitz about it, but I wasn't hurt or anything so, you know, I was upset for a little while and then I moved on."

The was a brief pause over the line.

"Olivia why haven't you been calling me?"

She sighed.

"I didn't want to have a sit down with you and Fitz so I lied and told him you said it wasn't a good idea then I never called you because I didn't want to have to face you but in my defense, I admitted it to him, all of it."

"You did?"

"Yes."

"How did he react?"

"In usual Fitz fashion, he took it very well, I actually didn't really want to talk about me, I wanted to talk about him."

"Oh, what about him?"

Olivia leaned back on the couch and made herself comfortable.

"Well… I'm a little worried about him, I don't know if it's misplaced but I just feel like he's worrying too much."

"What do you mean worrying too much?"

"I mean he's worry about the country, he worried about the damn world, he's worried about me, I just think he's dealing with a lot- I mean he's just a man, there only so much a person can take right?"

"Did something specific happen that caused you to think that somehow now he's at his limit, did he express that to you?"

"Well no, he hasn't told me he's overwhelmed or anything but I can't sort of sense it."

"Well then you need to speak with him about that and let him know that is something that concerns you."

"I thought about doing that, the good thing is that we're going on vacation next Friday, we'll be celebrating our anniversary and his birthday, I think that'll be the perfect time to do it, what do you think?"

"I think whenever you're in a safe and comfortable setting you should do it, I find that you too spend so much time worrying about each other instead of speaking with each other about it."

"I've been opening up to him more, granted it's only been two days but I've been sharing in little bits and I think he really really likes that so I'm working on sharing more and more you know."

"What have you been sharing?"

"Well, I told him something important that happened while I was in Iran, something I didn't even tell you."

"Wow, I won't ask what it was but I will say that I'm proud, when people are in relationship, sharing is very important."

"Yeah, I'm learning that, especially with Fitz, that's how he feels secure especially since I returned from Iran. It's not like I keep things to myself because it's fun, after my mom died my dad didn't exactly encourage sharing, in fact he did the opposite and told me to keep my feelings to myself and I did until I met Abby, that was the first time I really opened up to anyone and I was pretty good at sharing until Iran-"

As Olivia spoke, her phone vibrated and she realized she was getting another call, it was Abby, mostly likely calling to tell her she'd arrived.

"Savannah can we pick up tomorrow, Abby's calling and I need to take it."

"Okay, we'll pick up tomorrow."

Olivia hung up quickly and answered Abby's call.

"Hello Abbs, where are you?"

"We're on our way there, maybe 5 minutes away, the guards just picked us up from the metro."

"Okay, I'll meet you out back."

"Alright."

Olivia hung up and headed down to the back entrance and waited until she saw the black suv approaching from the private south gate.

She walked down the steps as the suv came to a stop and Abby hopped out with Sahara on her hip.

Olivia smiled and walked over, giving Abby a hug as she took Sahara from her.

"Hello my princess, I missed you," she said as she kissed her chubby cheeks.

"Va!" Sahara screamed excitedly.

"Well hello Liv, I'm here too you know," Abby teased.

"Shut up, I gave you a hug already."

Olivia turned her attention back to Sahara and peppered her with kisses on her face and stomach. Sahara giggled uncontrollably in response.

"Come on Abby, let's go back up to the residence."

Abby followed Olivia back to Fitz's bedroom, all the while Abby gushed about being in the residence of the White House.

"I can't believe I'm actually here."

Olivia smiled and walked her to through the bedroom, Abby looked around and saw all the loose articles of clothing all over the floor and chuckled.

"I guess I know what you two did last night," she said cheekily.

"And this morning," Olivia retorted with a smirk.

She took them out to the balcony and showed Sahara the view.

"Are you hungry Abbs, help yourself."

The breakfast spread had still been barely touched.

"You don't have to tell me twice."

Abby took a plate and served herself some fruit and pastries.

"Are you hungry Sahara, do you want a muffin?" Asked Olivia.

"Fuff fuff."

Olivia smiled.

"I thought so."

Olivia sat her in the couch and gave her a muffin and watched as she ate.

"So, you know it's been crazy since the ex wife said you two were having an affair right, how have you been feeling with that?" Asked Abby.

"I haven't done much, Fitz did the interview yesterday and we're still waiting to see how she responds, I for one don't wanna have a back and forth with her."

"Yeah, I was so surprised he stuck up for you like that publicly, not that I thought he wouldn't, I've seen how he gets about you but watching that was kinda surreal, I'm glad he did though, there has been a difference in coverage since then, I'm pretty sure people just don't know what to believe at this point, Mellie Grant or the president."

"Well unless she has proof, which I don't think she does else she would have shown it already, I'm pretty sure they'll end up believing Fitz."

"What did he do about that crazy guy yesterday, I know you said you were okay but obviously that was really close."

Olivia smiled and fed Sahara some orange juice from a cup.

"He has him in custody, you know Fitz, he's not just gonna let it go."

"I don't blame him, you can just have crazy people jumping on you."

"Yeah, I know," she said absently as she mused over Sahara stuffing her face with a muffin.

"Sahara, I have someone very special I want you to meet, you met him already but it was only for a few minutes so your going to meet him again, his name is Fitz, can you say Fitz for Aunty Livie?"

"Fip," Sahara said with her mouth full of muffin.

Olivia laughed.

"That's good enough for me."

Abby chuckled too.

Olivia waited until Sahara was finished with her muffin and picked her up to take her to Fitz in the oval.

"Abby are you coming?"

"Does he even want to see me, you know, after the whole Gerry thing?"

"That's water under the bridge Abb, come on, you're my best friend, I'm sure Fitz loves you," Olivia said with just the slightest hint of sarcasm.

Abby rolled her eyes.

"Okay fine but if he kicks me out of the white house, I blame you."

"Shut up and follow me."

As they walked to the west wing, Abby started musing again.

"Wow, I can't believe this is really where you've been sleeping."

"I slept over my boyfriend's house, not a big deal."

"Yeah, except your boyfriend is the motherfucking president and his house is the motherfucking White House."

Olivia chuckled.

"Language!"

As they approached the oval, Olivia stopped at Lauren's desk.

"Is he free?"

"Yes, Dr. Pope, he's free."

"Perfect thank you Lauren, and thanks for stopping by my apartment yesterday, I really appreciate it."

Lauren smiled shyly.

"No problem."

Olivia walked across the hall and knocked in Fitz's door.

"Come in," she heard him call.

She opened the door and walked in with Sahara in her hip and Abby in tow.

Fitz smiled and walked over from his desk.

"Hey Livie, Gabby."

"It's Abby."

Fitz gave Olivia a soft peck on her smiling lips.

"Hi Sahara," Fitz said as he waved.

Sahara stared at him with her nose scrunched.

"Sahara this is Fitz, remember I told you I wanted you to meet someone special."

Fitz smiled.

"Fip?" Sahara asked.

"Yes," Olivia said with a smile.

Fitz walked back to his desk and opened his drawer and pulled out a small bag and walked back to Olivia and Sahara.

"I got this for you," Fitz pulled out a medium sized bubble guppies stuffed Molly doll.

Sahara practically jumped on Fitz and grabbed the doll.

"Mo!" She screamed.

She hugged on to the doll tightly and smiled at Fitz. She reached up and touched his face and squeezed his nose before she turned her attention back to the doll and wiggled out of his arms. Fitz let her down to the ground and let her sit and play with her new toy.

"Cheater," Olivia teased.

He smiled.

"Yeah well sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do."

Sahara got up and started racing around the room with her stuffed doll, Fitz chased her. Olivia watched in amusement as they played, she was sure anyone who walked passed the door would hear them laughing. As Fitz chased Sahara, she ran to Olivia and grabbed onto her leg as she giggled wildly. Olivia ended up joining the fun and chased her as well as Abby watched.

After a while they were exhausted and they rested on the couch, Sahara laid lazily on top of Olivia and still giggled as Fitz kept her entertain with funny faces and tickles. Soon after, Lauren came in to remind Fitz it was time for him to leave for his meeting.

Once Fitz left for his meeting, Olivia, Sahara and Abby went back to the residence to chat and hang out until Abby left Olivia and Sahara alone to go see Stephen, she planned on spending the night at Olivia's apartment.

Later in the night, when Fitz arrived at the residence, he found Olivia and Sahara asleep on the couch, he'd hoped to find them awake but because of a Taliban attack near the American embassy in Egypt, he spent most of the afternoon and night in the situation room trying to control the situation.

He showered and threw on some sweatpants and brought Olivia and Sahara over to the bed. He couldn't help but smile at Sahara, she had on a onesie and sucked on her pacifier in her sleep, she had her doll tucked under her arm as if she was guarding it in her sleep.

Sahara might have been half Latina but he imagined that if he ever had a daughter with Olivia, they'd look the same. He stared at them for a while; absently, he didn't want to get ahead of himself and fantasize too much into a dream world but he couldn't help it. He lounged around for a while; thinking, worrying, fantasizing… Until she fell asleep on the couch.


	47. Chapter 47

A/N - Hi guys, thanks for reading and reviewing. I just wanted to clarify a few things. One reviewer asked who Sahara was: she's Olivia's goddaughter. Another one of my favorite reviewers also thought that maybe Sahara could have been Olivia and Fitz's secret child: she isn't. I'm also going to address what happened in Iran in a few chapters but as a heads up, I wanted you to know that there was no sexual assault. Thank you guys so much, I want to shower each and every one of you with much love and gratitude for continuing to read and review, this is my catharsis. I'm also writing new chapters of vision. XOXO.

One week later.

Fitz and Cyrus sat in the oval waiting on the news of the vote to confirm Cyrus in the senate. After a grueling confirmation hearing and meetings with senator after senator throughout the week, they'd finally been able to expedite a vote.

There were a few things going on simultaneously. Sally was out actively campaign against Fitz, luckily no other republican dared to challenge him, all he had to deal with was Sally and the democrats, his interview did send her down in the polls but she was a fighter and that didn't deter her. Mellie was still mum on a response to Fitz interview which was good, the story was dying.

He was set to fly to Aspen in the late night with Olivia to enjoy what was suppose to originally be a one week vacation, now 5 days but he didn't care, he was just grateful for a little time away from D.C. with Olivia.

He and Cyrus were both sipping scotch as they waited, he wasn't nervous but he could tell Cyrus was. They would usually meet with all the staff and aides to get vote counts from the senate but since it was a special vote in this case, they decided to meet alone.

"Cy, you're my next Vice President, there is no way they don't confirm you so don't worry."

"Yeah, but it's gonna be close."

"You're going to sail through Cy, you're qualified, you're smart, you're the best man to be my Vice President, I made that clear to everyone, they won't deny you."

"They're senators Fitz, some of them aren't too bright-"

Fitz's phone rang as Cyrus spoke, they knew it was the call they'd been waiting for and Fitz picked up and listened on the line.

He kept his disposition unreadable to torture Cyrus.

"Thank you," Fitz said as he hung up.

Cyrus sighed.

"I knew it, there is no way they confirm a gay man to the vice presidency, I'll go back to the list of original picks," Cyrus stood and threw back the rest of his scotch, "this is what I get for being a fucking optimist."

Fitz smiled.

"The vote was 91-9 Cy, you're in, congratulations Vice President Beene."

The look on Cyrus' face was priceless, it was one of utter shock and joy.

Fitz stood up and gave Cyrus a bear hug.

"Congrats Cy."

"Thanks, I don't know what to say, I'm just trying to digest it."

"Good-"

He heard a knock in his door and assumed it was the aides coming to congratulate Cyrus.

"Come in."

About 30 staff members entered with balloons and champagne. They cheered and took turns congratulating Cyrus. Fitz stood back and let Cyrus have his moment.

They wasted no time, they had his swearing in ceremony in the rose garden by 3pm and made it official with full press coverage and Cyrus' first interview as Vice President by 5pm.

In the week that led up to the confirmation, Fitz met with several chief of staff prospects but he left the second round interviews to Cyrus, he wasn't really taking the new chief of staff appointment serious because he was sure Cyrus would still function as his chief of staff only now he had more authority. They really only needed a filler in the spot for the purpose of appearances.

The day was long and eventful, but Fitz was really looking forward to the night. He already had his clothes packed by staff and taken to AF1 from earlier in the day. Almost 70 people including secret service would be accompanying them which was less than the usual 150 but he planned on keeping them as far away as possible. Unfortunately, being president meant you got no real vacation, he'd still have to get daily briefings and be on call for anything even slightly out of the ordinary so he needed a full staff around him in case of an emergency, it was presidential protocol.

As he waited for the press corp to leave, he showered and prepared to head to joint base Andrews and meet Olivia on AF1.

Olivia spent most of the day agonizing over what to pack for the trip. She knew Fitz was full of surprises, so I case they needed to go out, she brought a couple dresses and heels but she mostly packed hiking attire, loungewear and swimwear even though she didn't plan in touching a pool and lingerie, after all, it was his birthday week and she had him all to herself and she planned on taking full advantage of that but she also had a lot to talk with him about. After one week of being back on schedule with Savannah, she was feeling good, she wanted to share with him and she also wanted him to share with her and she was excited to see where that would take them. She also spent quite a while figuring out what to get Fitz. It was difficult because he had everything but she came up with something that she was sure would surprise him and she couldn't wait to give it to him.

She left for the airbase a little after 7pm, when Fitz told her he was on his way to leaving the White House. When she got to AF1 , she was surprised that there were so many people on board. There was no press but a lot of staff. Fitz told her there would be staff but she had no idea that it would be that many especially since it was a vacation trip and not official business.

Josh led her to the living quarters which seemed less like an airplane cabin and more like the presidential suite at the Ritz. He set her bags down in the corner and excused himself and left her alone.

She had been on AF1 once and it was when Fitz came to New York to get her and she'd been in a pretty general room filled with staff so she never really saw much of the plane. She took a moment to look around the huge room, she kicked off her sandals and dropped herself on the huge bed and stared at the ceiling.

After a while, she dozed off and it wasn't until she felt someone staring at her the she opened her eyes. Fitz was sitting directly over her, staring at her with a smile in his face. He leaned down her pecked her on the lips.

"Wake up sleeping beauty," he teased.

"Ferme ta grande bouche," she said lazily.

"Did you just tell me shut up in the sexiest way ever."

She smiled and pulled his face down for another soft kiss.

"Coupable."

Fitz smirked.

"Stop that, you're definitely making me hard."

"Maybe that's what I wanted."

She pulled his body on top of hers and wrapped her legs around him.

"This is your week, birthday boy, you get whatever you want."

She had her hands cupped around his cheeks and gazed directly at him as she spoke.

"What if I want everything?"

"It's your birthday week, you get whatever you want."

Fitz smiled and reached under her summer dress and tried to pull down her underwear, but there were none.

His mouth fell open and then curved into a smile.

"You naughty, naughty girl."

Olivia chuckled and pulled his face down and kissed him.

There was no rush as they kissed, it was soft, slow, lazy and most of all, wet. Time passed, she wasn't sure how much, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30, she lost track before she felt Fitz rock hard and inside her. They made slow love, there was no sense of urgency, they had the entire week to themselves and they were going to relish in every second of it.

As they both laid on the bed, breathing heavily from their orgasms, Olivia realized it was very well possible that the large crew onboard could have heard them.

"Fitz do you think anyone heard us?" She wondered aloud.

"Uhmm… maybe."

She laughed.

"Why do you have so many people here, I thought this was a vacation."

They had long since taken off and had been in the air for some time.

"In case a crisis breaks out, I need to have adequate staff to deal with it."

"Yeah but there are like 50 people here and that's just what I saw."

"And there's a second plane, it took off ahead of us."

"First of all, it's like the freaking starship enterprise in here, why do you need another plane?"

"It's a cargo plane, it holds the bulletproof cars, etc."

"Oh okay."

She snuggled closer to Fitz and rested her head on his chest.

"I'm so excited, I think this is going to be the best week ever."

Fitz smiled.

"Only cause you're here."

She chuckled softly.

"Well your right of course, but tell me, what are we going to do?"

"What do you have planned for my birthday?"

"Mes lèvres sont scellées."

"Your lips are sealed?"

She smiled.

"Oui, your French is getting better."

"You're a good teacher," Fitz said as he gave her a soft kiss, "I love you."

"I love you too babe, when I'm done with you, you won't want to leave Aspen."

Fitz nodded in agreement.

The flight landed just before 2 in the morning. They drove a few hours to Fitz's cottage in Aspen. Olivia fell asleep in the car so Fitz decided not to wake her and instead carried her to the bedroom and then joined her in sleep shortly after.

The next morning when Olivia woke up, it was bright and sunny out. She turned and felt for Fitz but he was gone from the bed. She sat up and looked around at the cabin. The walls were made of stone, there was a small fireplace in the bedroom and she could see the trees and hills outside because one of the walls was completely replaced by glass. There was also a bathroom in the bedroom and it made her wonder how big the cabin was.

She decided she wanted to explore the rest of the house and find Fitz. As she stood up from the bed, she saw her bags in the corner of the room and instead choose to brush her teeth and shower before she began her little exploration.

Once she finished showering and threw on some shorts and a t shirt, she opened the bedroom door and set out.

The moment she opened the door, she saw Fitz with a group of staff and advisers. They were obviously having some kind of meeting or briefing.

"Woah," she blurted out and then covered her mouth.

Fitz stood up and smiled at her then turned back to the staff.

"I think we're good here, as usual keep me posted and we'll meet here same time tomorrow."

The group nodded and filed out, so did secret service.

"Morning Liv, are you ready for what I expect to be a very tiring day," he said as he walked over and kissed her.

She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"What are we going to be doing?"

"We're hiking."

"That sounds fun, I'm excited."

She could have guessed that's what he planned based on his attire, he was clad in camo cargo pants, a t shirt and hiking boots.

"I am hungry though."

Fitz smiled.

"I figured, Edie made breakfast, it's in the kitchen."

"As much as I appreciate the breakfast, no staff is allowed, just you and me, I'll put up with your briefings in the morning or whatever but that's it, this is a vacation after all, no work, I won't be working so you won't be working."

"Yes ma'am - sidebar: who's gonna cook us food?"

"Me," she said with a smile.

"You can cook?"

"Of course I can, you didn't know that?"

"I mean, I knew you made really great sandwiches and breakfast food."

She laughed.

"I can cook- come on, let's see what Edie made."

Fitz let her to the kitchen and as she expected, there was a full breakfast spread with a whole bunch of food that was too much for them to eat. She chuckled to herself and sat with him at the table and nibbled at a few different things.

"So are you gonna give me a tour before the hike?" She asked as she stuffed a slice of bacon in her mouth.

"Yeah, sure, grab a plate and walk with me, I'll show you around."

"Okay," Olivia said with a smile as she fixed herself a plate with fruits and bacon.

Once she was done, she followed behind Fitz through a tour of the cabin, it was a little bigger than she expected but it was perfect and cozy with wood floors and stone walls. Some of the ceiling was open glass for full view of the sky, most of the walls to the outside were glass a well. It had a sleekness to it that juxtaposed how comfy it felt. There was a larger fireplace in the living room with candles all around it and beside the fireplace was a small indoor jacuzzi retrofitted into the floor.

As she stood in the living room musing at the design of the cabin, she felt Fitz smiling beside her.

"You should see the look on your face," he teased.

"It really is beautiful in here."

Fitz smiled and held her hand and led her outside. He showed her the pool that had a small artificial, rock paved waterfall flowing into it. The land the cabin was built in was slightly elevated at the base of the hill, enough for her to see the town a few miles away. Behind the cabin, was the green, forested hill. The was a lot of land surrounding the cabin but she wasn't sure how much of it Fitz owned.

Fitz let her look around for a while as she nibbled on the fruit on her plate.

"You ready to go hiking?"

She turned around and smiled.

"Yep, just let me get in the gear."

"Okay."

They both headed back to the bedroom where Olivia prepared for their hike. Fitz was already dressed for it so he helped her spray on bug spray and helped her lace up her hiking boots. She wore little shorts and a white t shirt.

"You ready?"

"Yep, all set baby."

Fitz smiled and kissed her.

"Let's go."

He took her hand and led her up the trail in her hill. They hiked for an hour until they reached the top. Olivia was surprised to see a whole bunch of camping equipment gathered at a small opening in the woods.

"What's this?" She asked Fitz.

"We're gonna spend the afternoon setting up camp and then we're gonna hang out up here all night."

"What about food?"

"Don't worry, I wouldn't let you starve, food is in one of these bags."

Olivia laughed.

"Perfect, let's get to it- by the way, I'm an expert at setting up camp."

"Please, I lived in a camping tent for most of my teens."

"We'll see," Olivia challenged.

As the worked together to set up camp, it was a rather advanced tent so it took them sometime, all the while they bantered back and forth. After the tent was set up, they brought food in the tent and ate lunch and then went back to fixing up camp. By evening, it was time to set up a campfire. Olivia gathered small stones in a circle and Fitz took a twig and ignited a fire.

"Woah, who taught you how to build a fire?"

Fitz chuckled.

"I was a Boy Scout, I learned a few things."

Olivia walked over to the tent and grabbed the small bag of marshmallows, skewers, chocolate and graham cracker so they could make s'mores.

They sat around the campfire, roasting their marshmallows. It was dusk, violet and blue filled the evening sky.

"Are you excited to start working in your lab?"

"Yes, I am so excited, I must warn you though, I tend to sort of get a little invested, if you know what I mean."

Fitz smiled.

"What do you mean?"

"Once I find something interesting I tend to go down the rabbit hole and it's hard for me to break my attention from it until I finish, so I'll probably be at the lab a lot, late nights and stuff."

Fitz nodded, he wasn't excited that she'd be unavailable sometimes but it was what she loved doing so he'd support her.

"So who's gonna be helping you, at the lab."

"I wanted Harry because he knows more about my research and experiments than anyone, well except for Daniel and Professor Confessore but Abby won't let him, so I'm gonna hire a bunch of lab assistants."

"Who is professor Confessore?"

"He's a very distinguished math and physics professor, he's worked for Cambridge and MIT. I started working with him when I was 5, he was fascinated by me and he was my math tutor and overall mentor until I surpassed him. We worked together a lot over the years, he really pushed me to work on the millennium problems and helped me with my research at MIT."

"What are the millennium problems?"

She smiled and squeezed her roasted marshmallow I between two graham crackers and took a bite.

"They're pretty much some of the hardest problems in math, there were originally seven unsolved problems but Grigori Perelman solved the Poincaré conjecture, I solved the other 5 but I haven't published them, I'm still working on the P versus NP which is the last equation, I probably could've finished already but I stopped for a couple years and I started working on it back in January but I only really do it in my free time or when I'm bored, you know, for fun."

"Wow, which ones did you do?"

"I did the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture, Hodge conjecture, Navier–Stokes existence and smoothness, Riemann hypothesis, and Yang–Mills existence and mass gap."

"English Liv, please."

She chuckled.

"Sorry. Each equation, depending on how complex it is, can be hundreds of pages long, the Navier-Stokes existence and smoothness equation is 561 pages long."

"That's a math problem?"

"Yes but it's presented as complete proof so it's not just the math, I have to explain it as well, that's why it's so long."

"How did you meet Daniel?"

Olivia was almost certain that question was coming.

"We met at MIT, he was studying molecular and particle physics and I was doing independent research on Stem cells, we met through professor Confessore while we were at MIT, we ended up collaborating on our research and we became friends."

"Do you still work with professor Confessore?"

"No, he was unhappy that I didn't want to publish my solutions to the problems, he doesn't know I solved most of them, he only knows of two, he thought I was a shoe in for a Nobel prize if I did, Fields medals and millennium prize. He started to remind me of my father, he was pushing me too hard and I didn't like that so we parted ways."

"Olivia Pope, Nobel peace prize winner, it has a certain ring to it, don't you think?" He said with a smile.

"It does have a nice ring to it," she said with a smile, "I'm not ruling it out, I just want all 6 problems to be done first, I didn't want to be pushed into it."

"No, I understand, it should be your decision."

She smiled.

"Thanks, I'm almost done anyways, I'm pretty sure I'll get my eureka moment any one of these days."

"I'm sure you will," said Fitz as he gave her a peck on the lips.

"Can I ask you something baby?"

"Sure," she responded.

"I don't think I thought this whole tent thing through, are you going to be okay sleeping in a tent, you know, with everything that happened?"

She smiled.

"Well, I'm with the president and there are like a dozen secret service guards all around us so I think I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I feel perfectly safe," she said with a smile.

Fitz kissed her forehead and smiled.

"Good."

Olivia smirked and dropped her skewer in the campfire and grabbed Fitz's hand.

"Come on, let's go, we have a perfectly comfy tent waiting for us."

Fitz dropped his skewer as well and followed her to the tent. They took off their shoes and laid flat on the floor. Olivia laid facing Fitz with her leg thrown over his body. She traced her fingers all over his face and squeezed his nose to annoy him and then she grabbed his face and kissed his lips.

"You're annoying," he said with a smile.

Olivia laughed.

"What are you going to do to stop me?"

By now Olivia had found herself on top of him, straddling him. She held him arms above his head and Fitz almost laughed because she really had no strength at all, he could have easily overtaken her. He entertained her for a while and let her maintain control.

She held him down and peppered him with soft kisses. He loved how affectionate and attentive she was. She started kissing him a little less playfully and a little more erotically, she took her time to suck in his tongue and lips.

Fitz felt the need to overtake her because the teasing became too much. He pulled his arms from her grip almost laughably easily and wrapped his arms around her waist and held her body tightly against his and kissed her.

Olivia slowly eased up and allowed Fitz to pull down her short in one swoop and then she kicked them off. She unbuttoned his pants and pulled them down to his thighs.

She was sitting just above his knees and she leaned over and softly kissed the tip of his hard cock. She felt like playing with him so she took her time and stroked him and listened amusingly as he panted. She ran her tongue up his shaft and licked the curve of his tip.

Fitz cursed, rather loudly.

"Come on baby, ride me," begged Fitz.

Olivia crawled up on top of him and kissed him as she slowly pulled her panties to the side and lowered herself down on him.

Tom, Josh and 10 other agents stood outside their tent. Some were within hearing distance, others were not. Tom and Josh lost count of how many times they had to listen to Olivia and Fitz have sex. While is was uncomfortable and most of the times resulted in accidental boners, they never moved or attempted to get out of hearing distance. It was most uncomfortable when they had to interact with Olivia afterwards, especially Tom who had seen Olivia's breasts on more than one occasion. He was a man after all, they were all men and some responses were only natural and in Tom's case one way to avoid any uncomfortable instances was to never look directly at Olivia. Whenever he glimpsed at her, he would find himself wondering about things he shouldn't wonder about and so he avoided her at all cost not that he ever planned on acting on any urges or dreams he had but he thought it was simply more prudent to play it safe.

He could hear her moaning, breathily, loudly; the way any man would want to hear a woman moan when they were inside her, the kind of moan that would make a man fall in love or become obsessed and he could see why Fitz was both. Tom looked over to Josh who was awkwardly swaying back and forth, no doubt trying to take his mind to any other place.

He could hear Fitz whispering to Olivia how great he thought her vagina was, only it wasn't exactly a quiet whisper and he used much more explicit words. Olivia in returned, mused about how big he was and how much she enjoyed feeling him inside her, everything from the curve of his tip to a vein that run up his shaft and after that Tom really couldn't take it anymore. He was sweating bullets on a rather cool night so he moved far enough away where he was still close but couldn't hear them as clearly and hoped that the agents coming to take watch would arrive soon so he could leave.

Olivia and Fitz finished soon after, though not as soon as he would have liked. He could hear them laughing and kissing, no doubt trying to recover and then as if sent from heaven itself, the night shift guards came to takeover and relieved them. He was saved.


	48. Chapter 48

When Olivia and Fitz woke up around mid morning, they headed back down to the cabin where they showered together and had a fun quickie before they went to get dressed. Olivia lingered in the kitchen and slowly made breakfast as Fitz had his briefing in the living room with his staff. The meeting was an abbreviated 30 minutes briefing and by the time Fitz was done, she had finished preparing their spinach and bacon frittatas. Fitz took the plate and sniffed it.

"That smells great, it looks good too, what's in it?"

She smiled.

"Sliced cherry tomatoes, spinach, mozzarella cheese and bacon."

"Wow."

Fitz kissed her and took his plate and orange juice and headed to the couch with Olivia in tow. She sat beside him with her legs folded and plate on her lap as she grabbed the remote.

"What are we going to watch?" she asked.

"What's a good movie to watch?"

Olivia pondered.

"Have you seen Tropic Thunder?"

"No."

She smiled.

"It's the funniest movie ever, you'll love it. Robert Downey Jr stars in it."

"Okay, let's order it."

Olivia ordered the movie and waited for it to load and play and then leaned on Fitz's side and they both ate as the movie intro began.

"Olivia this is really good," he said in reference to the food.

"Thanks."

Olivia had watched the movie over 20 times but the way she laughed to the point of tears at every joke, Fitz would have sworn it was the first.

Kirk lazarus - "God damn it! We lost! We fucking super lost, man! Tell him, McClusky. Tell him what time it is."

Tugg speedman - "I don't believe you people."

Kirk lazarus - "What do you mean 'you people'?"

"Wait, why is he getting offended that he said 'you people', isn't he white pretending to be black?" Fitz asked.

Olivia laughed.

"Yeah he's white that's is why it's so funny."

Alpa Chino - "What do you mean, 'you people'?"

Sandusky -"I think what Tugg means is…"

Kirk lazarus -"No, look at his eyes, man. Look at them beady, white devil eyes."

Olivia laughed and cried so hard that Fitz could barely pay attention to the movie because he was so fascinated with her.

Kirk lazarus - "Hey, man, you know how in Rambo 1, he was big but a little puffy and then Rambo 2, he got all shredded up?

Tugg speedman - "Yeah."

Kirk lazarus - "That's kind of how you look right now."

Tugg Speedman - "Yeah?"

Kirk Lazarus - "Not Rambo 1 but 2."

Tugg Speedman - "Really?"

Kirk Lazarus - "Yeah, when he was cut up."

Tugg Speedman - "I'm not that... I mean, that's what I'm going for, but you know…"

Kirk Lazarus - "Come on, dude. You more shredded than a julienne salad, man."

Tugg Speedman - 'Thanks."

Kirk Lazarus - "What's the secret, dude?"

Tugg Speedman - "It's a diet. I'm just dieting."

Kirk Lazarus - "Really? 'Cause I'm trying to come up a little, but it's just... It's tough. You look good. Any tips?"

Tugg Speedman - "What?"

Kirk Lazarus - "Any tips, you got?"

Tugg Speedman - "There's, like, the pineapple…"

Kirk grabs the map from Tugg.

Kirk Lazarus - Give me that goddamn map!"

Tugg Speedman - "Hey!"

Kirk Lazarus - "Fuck you!"

He hands it to Sandusky.

Kirk Lazarus - "Tell us where we really at."

Tugg Speedman - "That's fucking bullshit! It's a chump move."

Kirk Lazarus - "We just getting a second opinion, doc."

Sandusky - "We're going the wrong way!"

Kirk Lazarus - "Damn! Son of a bitch."

Sandusky - "God! I think we were supposed to be doing this, and instead we did this."

Jeff - "Shit, shit, shit, shitty shit, shit!"

Kirk Lazarus - "Think you can get us back to that drop zone, boy?"

Tugg Speedman - "This is not cool!"

Sandusky - "Maybe."

Tugg Speedman - "This is insane! Are you really going to abandon this movie? We're supposed to be a unit!"

Kirk Lazarus - "Suck my unit!"

Olivia was practically on the floor laughing. Fitz laughed too, although not as hard as Olivia who was wiping tears from her eyes.

"Liv?"

She sat up and took a deep breath.

"Do you not get why it's so funny, it's sarcastical as hell, Kirk is white but he's playing a black guy and he takes his character so serious he gets offended by white people, Jeff is going through heroin withdrawal the entire movie, Tugg is overacting like a motherfucker, Alpa Chino who is black calls Kirk the 'n' word and gets slapped, it's really funny," she said laughing.

"Yeah, it's is pretty funny," Fitz said as he laughed.

Within an hour the movie was over. Olivia was winded from laughing.

"What do we do know?" she asked.

"We could go fishing, by the lake," Fitz suggested.

"There's a lake? I didn't see that yesterday."

"It's hidden by the forest and it's small."

Olivia looked at him skeptically.

"You know how to fish?"

"Yep and I can teach you," he said with a smile.

"We're not gonna be in a boat are we?"

"No, we'll just sit on the boardwalk, it goes out into the lake."

"That sounds fun, I'm up for it."

Fitz stood up and pulled her up. She went to the bedroom and pulled on some shorts with her t shirt. She wore flip flops, Fitz did too which she thought was funny because it was so casual and different from what he usually wore.

It was a 20 minutes walk to the hidden lake. It was beautiful, the water was clean and clear. There was a shed near the boardwalk and kayaks and row boats parked on the shore.

Fitz opened the shed and took out some equipment. There was a small refrigerator that stored bait, he took some of that as well and they brought them to the end of the boardwalk and sat while Fitz lined up the hooks.

When he was done, he gave her her own fishing line with bait and then showed her how to throw it out.

"Do it let me see," he said after he gave her a tutorial.

She smiled and stood up and threw the line out, it went a couple feet out.

"Not too shabby," Olivia said as she laughed at herself.

Fitz laughed.

"Baby, it needs to go further than that, reel it up."

She reeled the line in. Fitz got behind her and held her hand as he helped her throw the line out further and she jumped up in excitement.

"Yay, I got it."

Fitz threw his line out as well and then they both sat on the edge and waited for the hook to get pulled.

"Is this a naturally occurring lake or man-made, cause it looks man-made?"

"It's man-made, but it dug out and built from the 80's, I bought it like this. I have a marine biologist that takes care of the fish and water to keep it sustained."

"How many properties do you have, it seems like you like buying properties."

"Well this is my private little man cave, I used to come here as often as I could when I was governor and no one clocked how much time I took off but since the presidency, I've only been able to come here twice. I had a condo in New York but Mellie took it, along with the one in Miami and our house in Beverly Hills. I kept the apartment in Paris. My family has a ranch in Santa Barbara, I don't go there much. My family also has a house in the Hamptons, in Nova Scotia and a vacation home in Capri, Italy and of course you know about isle Amabella."

Olivia chuckled.

"You do not need that many properties."

"I travelled a lot when I worked for my family's company and I didn't always want to stay at a hotel so I bought apartments, we had more properties, I sold them when my Gerry died."

"How did Gerry die, you never told me what happened."

That was risky territory and Fitz really didn't want to talk about it which he knew was hypocritical because always pushed her to be open with him but this was different.

"-I think I just caught one," he said in an attempt to change the subject.

"Really!"

Fitz reeled in the line and pulled it up. The bait was still on the line.

"False alarm," he said with a smile.

"Well I'm glad because I'm gonna catch one before you."

Fitz chuckled.

"Keep dreaming."

Olivia was about to reply when she felt a tug on her line.

"Fitz, I think I caught one."

"Reel it in."

She reeled in the line and pulled it out the water. There was a tiny golden fish on the line.

"Yay I caught one."

"Yeah, you caught the kid from finding nemo," Fitz teased.

"And you caught nothing."

"Please, you caught bait, I'm catching Dinner."

Olivia chuckled and touched the wiggling fish.

"Take him off and throw him back in."

"Why?" asked Fitz.

"I don't wanna kill him."

Fitz shook his head as he chuckled and took the slowly fish off the hook and threw him back in the water.

Olivia smiled.

"Olivia 1 - president 0."

"Woah wait, I think I got another one coming in," Fitz said a his line moved in the water.

He reeled his line in quickly and pulled it up a rather large salmon was hooked to the line.

"What were you saying?" Fitz said with a smirk.

Olivia huffed.

"Why is there Salmon in the lake anyways, aren't they found in rivers and seas."

"I'm eating Salmon for dinner, I don't know what you're eating."

She shoved him playfully.

"Can you cook salmon? 'Cause I can."

"Fine," he said as he gave her a peck on the lips, "you can have some too, you better be glad I love you or you'd have been sleeping with an empty stomach tonight."

She shoved him.

"Rude," she scolded, "but also funny."

They hung out on the ledge for a couple more hours. Fitz caught more fish but he threw them back, Olivia caught nothing and he made a point of laughing at her each time she thought she did.

By the time it was mid afternoon, they headed back to the cabin.

Olivia cleaned and marinated the fish and left it in the fridge for a few hours and later in the evening she cooked it with string beans and broccoli.

They didn't eat right away, they let the food sit while they showered again and blowed each other in the bathroom then got dressed.

Olivia reheated the food and Fitz took it to the coffee table in front of the couch while Olivia poured wine for her and scotch for him.

She joined him on the ground in front of the table shortly after and watched as he took his first few bites.

"Do you like it?"

He chewed and swallowed.

"It's really good, even the vegetables - I can't believe you've made me okay with eating vegetables, the things I do for love."

She smiled and took a few bites as well before she laid down her fork and faced him.

She cleared her throat before she began.

"Earlier when I asked you about your dad you changed the subject, why?"

"What?"

"Fitz."

He sighed.

"I didn't want to talk about it."

"Why not?"

"Because there's nothing to talk about."

"Fitz there's plenty to talk about."

"I'm sorry olivia, I just don't want to talk about it okay."

"So that's it, when it's time to talk, you don't want me to shut up but when it's your turn there's nothing to talk about."

Their voices were still calm, it was civil.

"Olivia please drop it, I really don't want to argue with you."

"Fitz, I don't want to argue either, I just want to you to tell me what happened."

Fitz slammed his hand on the table, the plates shook in response.

"Damn it Olivia, enough!" he yelled angrily.

Her mouth fell open and her eyes stung with tears. He had never lost his temper before, he gotten agitated in the past but not to that point. She felt overly dramatic for getting emotional but she couldn't help it.

She took a second to compose herself and then stood up and walked to the kitchen.

She had no idea why he had such a hard time telling her what happened to Gerry. She heard he had a heart attack which was odd because he was pretty spry for his age. She didn't think it would be that hard for Fitz to just tell her how it happened.

As she stood with her hands pressed against the counter in the kitchen, she heard Fitz cleared his throat behind her and she turned around.

Fitz stared at her for a while before he spoke.

"I'm really sorry."

She wanted to be angry with him but she just couldn't.

"It's okay."

"No, it's not Liv, I shouldn't have reacted that way, after everything that's happened, I don't wanna do anything that will jeopardize you feeling safe and secure."

"Fitz I'm not afraid of you."

She opened her arms to him and he took a couple steps forward and he was in her arms. Fitz cupped her face with his hands and rested his forehead against hers.

At that moment she got the feeling that he was holding back something big.

"Fitz what's going on with you?" She asked softly.

Fitz was quiet for a while then he spoke.

"Olivia, you'd never look at me the same if you knew."

"That's not true, nothing could change the way I think about you."

"Yeah, that's what people say until you tell them."

"I'm not people, I'm Olivia, your Olivia, and you can tell me anything."

Fitz mulled it over for a few more seconds before he decided to tell her.

"I killed him."

"What," she choked out softly.

Fitz took a small step back.

"I killed Gerry, when I thought I'd never find you, I got angry and we got into a fight and I killed him."

"How?"

"I smashed his head into a wall, at the time I convinced myself it was an accident, that I was so angry that I didn't realized what I was doing but that was a lie, I knew exactly what I was doing and after he died I covered it up. I lied about your father, he didn't die in a raid like I told you, we captured him, I brought him back to the U.S. and had him executed under the patriot act. I wish I could say that I feel guilt or remorse but I didn't and I still don't which makes me a monster. The only thing I cared about was what you'd think of me if you found out what I did."

Fitz waited for her to respond but she didn't.

"I'm so sorry. If you need some time-"

"Fitz you're not a cold blooded killer and won't let you become one because of me-"

"- Liv I-"

"You have to promise me that you will never, ever, do something like that again, not for me, promise me."

She looked him directly in the eyes as she spoke. She could see that he was struggling between the need vengeance for what they did to her and feeling regret for what he did to them, if not because of Rowan then Gerry because he was his father regardless of how horrible a man he was.

"I promise."

"Fitz, I'm going to hold you to that because I don't wanna feel like I'm bringing out the worst in you," she spoken sternly but with a tenderness that let him know she was both serious and concerned.

Fitz nodded again.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

"I love you, you can always confide in me, I'll never judge you for it okay. Our fathers, they were horrible men, both of them, they made the world far worse than they found it but we're not like them, were better and we're going to make the world better than they left it."

Fitz smiled, he never dreamed she'd react they way she did.

"Okay."

"Can I get a kiss?"

Fitz kissed her softly on the lips. She hugged him again and held on for a while before she let him go.

She felt like she needed to change the subject and fast, she didn't want to wallow in grief for the rest of the night.

"Okay so your washing the dishes."

"What?"

"Yep, you're washing the dishes, I'll be on the couch, finishing my wine."

"But I'm not even finished with my food."

"Okay, finish your food, then wash them."

"Okay."

She was about to step away but she stopped and turned to him. She wanted to make sure he was okay.

"Fitz, you're okay right, there isn't anything else that was worrying you?"

"Yeah, I'm just relieved that I finally told you, I guess I didn't realize what a burden it was."

"I'm glad you told me too now cheer up, your birthday is in two days and I have a lot planned."

Fitz smiled which made Olivia smile.

"I'll be in the living room, hurry up," Olivia said.

She was about to step off again but Fitz grabbed her hand and stopped her.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"And thank you for not freaking out when I told you, I promise I won't give you any more reasons to leave me than you already have."

Olivia smiled and kissed him.

"Honestly, I'd feel like a hypocrite if I did, when I woke up at the hospital and you told me Gerry died, I was relieved, I know it sounds horrible but I was," she sighed, "I was even more relieved when you told me my dad died, I was sad but relieved and yeah, they were horrible people but that doesn't mean I want their blood on your hands. I'm not happy about what happened but I'm not angry either, I just want you to be okay and I don't want you to be put in a spot where it has to come to that ever again, I don't want anymore blood on your hands."

"That's the problem Liv, every time I give an order and someone dies or I send troops overseas and someone dies, it's on my hands, it's always on my hands. I killed my father and I ordered yours executed, that's on me."

"I know, it's a lot to bear and that's why I want you to talk to me if you ever feel overwhelmed or just wanna vent you know, I'm 100% here for you. It's been a crazy year, for both of us, I think it's time we moved on and put all this grief behind us. "

She reached up and kissed him.

"I love you, more than anything, you know that."

Fitz nodded with a smile.

"I know."

"Good, come and finish your food, we could watch tropic thunder again."

"No, please no."

She grabbed his hand and pulled him back to the living room couch. They sat down and Fitz took his plate from the coffee table and ate a string bean.

"My food is cold, I'm gonna go heat it up, do you want me to heat yours as well."

"Yeah, I'll find something for us to watch in the meantime."

"Okay."

Fitz took the plates and brought them to the microwave while Olivia looked for the remote. By the time Fitz came back with the food, she found in between the couch cushions. She turned on the tv and it was one CNN.

"- new video of Olivia Pope speaking about candidate Grant before the election."

"Seriously?" Olivia said with a sigh.

Fitz smiled.

"Turn that up, I wanna hear this."

She chuckled and turned up the tv.

"I know exactly what they're talking about by the way."

The video flashed on the screen and showed Olivia sitting with a podcast host in a studio.

"The video is dated September 24, 2008, take a listen," said the CNN host.

Host - "What do you think about the presidential candidates Grant and Reston, those are the two choices, what do you think about them?"

Olivia - "Okay so let me start with Reston. He wasn't my top choice for democratic nominee. I think his policy on gun control is weak, he's strong on climate change and environmental protection which is really good, his economic plan isn't bad, it's going in the right direction, we need to get wealth redistributed, only the top 1% of this country is thriving under current economic plan and we need to change that."

Host - "You are in the top 1%, you want less money coming your way?"

Olivia - "No, I'm not saying that, I'm saying I want a fair playing field for everyone, everyone should be able to thrive, not just me and other rich people."

Host - "What about candidate Grant?"

Olivia - "ugh republican, I can honestly say he's the best candidate from the republican pool, I think his foreign policy solutions are better than Reston's, I will admit that, I'm trying to be objective as possible because obviously I'm a very liberal democrat. That being said, it's almost like choosing between two democrats, his policies are very moderate which is not a bad thing, at least not for me, he acknowledges climate change but just like every other republican he wants to cut taxes which I'm against. I'd much rather have my taxes raised so we can afford to take care of our less fortunate citizens and fund universal healthcare. He hasn't said a word about abortion which is good, the last thing I want to hear is another republican man telling a woman what she can and can't do with her body."

Host - "So out of both choices, who do you like personally and who would you vote for?"

Olivia - "There is something a bit creepy about Reston, he's very rehearsed and doesn't seem genuine and that makes it hard to connect with him, uhm… Grant on the other hand is charming but never forget he's a republican and I mean, I wish I could say that I would vote for a republican but the words would choke me. Luckily I don't have to choose between a republican and a creep because I won't be in the country for the next 3 months."

Host - "Who do you think will be president when you get back?"

Olivia - "Grant, by at least 3-4 points which is unfortunate because I really wanted a democrat in the white house but I'm not gonna be devastated that Grant won either."

Fitz turned to Olivia and smiled.

"You wish you could say that you'd vote for a republican but the words would choke you."

"It's true," she said with a smile, " luckily you're an independent now so I can vote for you in the general next year."

"Would you have not voted for me if I was still a republican?"

"I'm gonna have to say no to that one... fine... maybe but only cause I like you."

Fitz laughed as they kicked back on the couch and flipped through the channels until he relented to Olivia's whining and watched an encore of Tropic Thunder, they both fell asleep on the couch after the movie was finished.


	49. Chapter 49

Olivia woke up in the bedroom by herself. She assumed Fitz was at his briefing so she quickly showered and got dressed and then went to the living room. It was empty. She looked around the cabin for him and couldn't find him. She headed outside and found him by the edge of the patio, looking out at the town. She walked up silently behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"We have beef," she said as she pressed her cheek against his back.

Fitz chuckled and turned around and faced her.

"What did I do now?"

"I haven't woken with you in the bed beside me since we got here."

"We woke up together when we went camping."

"Yeah but that's not a bed, it doesn't count."

"Okay, I'll will make it a point of duty to be beside you when you wake tomorrow."

Olivia smiled.

"What are you doing out here?"

"My briefing just ended, I just wanted to get some fresh air."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

"Why don't we go make some breakfast and then we can hang by the pool."

"You gonna wear that white string bikini I like?"

"No, it's a new one but don't worry it's shows just as much ass."

Fitz smiled.

"Come on, let's go."

Fitz swept her up honeymoon style. Olivia giggled as he carried her back to the cabin.

She fixed them toasted bacon avocado sandwiches. She sliced both sandwiches in half and handed Fitz his plate. They sat in the high stools by the kitchen island and before Fitz could take his sandwich she reached over and picked it up and fed him a bite.

"How's that?"

Fitz chewed and swallowed with a smile.

"Holy shit that's good."

Olivia giggled and fed him another bite and then took a bite of her own sandwich. Fitz was finished with his sandwich after a few large bites. He took a sip of his iced tea to wash it down then eyed the half of Olivia's sandwich that was untouched. She scooted over to take a sip of her iced tea and Fitz saw that as his opportunity and grabbed her half sandwich.

"Hey I was gonna eat that!"

Fitz jumped out the chair and took off as soon as Olivia realized. Olivia chased him to the living room and caught him as he was running out to the patio. He'd eaten a half of the sandwich by now and she was trying to take it back but he stuffed the other piece in his mouth and chewed with his mouth full.

She stood smiling as he swallowed the sandwich and smiled.

"You snooze, you loose," he teased.

"You're the worst."

He chuckled and kissed her playfully and then threw her over his shoulder and took her back to the kitchen.

"I can't believe you ate my sandwich, I really wanted that," she whined as she took the plates from the island and placed them in the sink.

"Olivia I'm 6'3 and like 200 pounds, you gave me one sandwich, what was I supposed to do with that."

"Um, you weren't supposed to eat mine," she said with a chuckle.

"Can you make more...please, please, please."

"We're out of avocados and bacon… I was gonna go to the market tomorrow but I guess I can go today."

"What market?"

"There's a whole foods in the town, I needed some things for tomorrow so I was gonna drop by a little later. I guess I could go now, are you okay staying here till I get back?"

"Uh...no."

"Why not?"

"Because I wanna come with you."

Olivia smiled.

"Fitz, your the president, you can't just show up at whole foods. I'll go, I won't be long."

"I'm not letting you go unless you take me with you."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, woman."

"You're not coming."

Olivia tried to step off but Fitz blocked her. She stepped back and giggled.

"Seriously?"

"Yep."

She tried to go in the other direction but Fitz stopped her again.

"Fitz."

"What?"

She bit her lip and smiled, he was weakening her resolve and he knew it.

"Take me with you," he whispered.

Olivia sighed.

"Fine, fine, fine, you can come."

Fitz smiled.

"Yes, I'm getting sprung from the bin."

Fitz hurried and told Tom of their plans and then ran off to get dressed, Olivia followed him. He threw on a some navy chinos and a his navy t shirt and sneakers. Olivia also wore one of Fitz's navy t shirts with denim shorts and sandals.

They waited for just over a half hour for the agents to assemble the cars and secure the market before a group of agents came and escorted them to the car. It was a 10 minutes drive to the town.

People on the sidewalk looked on curiously as the entourage of black sedans pulled up. Hal opened the door and Fitz hopped out excitedly and then helped Olivia out and held her hand as they walked through the entrance together. Everyone gawked but it was something she was used to when she was out with Fitz.

"Did you write a list?" Fitz asked.

"Yep, up here," Olivia said as she pointed to her temple.

Fitz chuckled.

"Of course, let's grab a cart."

Fitz walked over to rack with the carts and pulled one out and pushed it over to her.

"You look so ridiculous right now."

"Pushing a cart?"

"Yeah, I'm so used to you being in a suit or you know, even better, naked."

Fitz chuckled.

"Where do you wanna start?"

Olivia looked up at the signage.

"Um, let's start with aisle 1, that's where all the veggies and fruits are."

"You've got it boss."

They both walked over to the aisle and Fitz stood by as Olivia did the shopping.

"We need eggplant, sugar snaps, sesame seeds, bean sprouts, chive, zucchini squash and avocados for you. I also need strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and peaches but that's for something else."

"Is this for something specific, not the avocados but everything else?"

"Yeah, I'm making you something special."

Fitz smiled.

Olivia picked out all the vegetables and dropped them in the cart one by one then they moved on to the next aisle.

"I need chicken breast, shrimp and bacon."

Fitz picked up a bag in jumbo shrimp from the freezer while Olivia picked out the chicken and bacon.

"What's next?"

"We need vanilla extract, cream, confectioners sugar, whipped cream and candles everything else we have at the cabin."

They walked up the aisle and picked up everything and dropped them in the cart.

"Okay that's it for me, is there anything you wanted?"

"Um, potato chips, I can't tell you he last time I had a bag of potato chips."

"Anything else?"

"Can we just walk around and look, I can't think of anything right now but I also haven't been in a grocery store in decades so I just wanna look around."

"Okay, no problem."

They walked around for almost a half hour. The more Fitz saw, the more he threw in the cart. By the time they went to checkout the cart was full. He picked up beer, jerky, twinkles, nachos, he was like a college kid who was preparing for a case of the munchies.

They walked up to join the checkout line like any normal person would. Everyone stared at them and took pictures, workers and customers alike.

A manager ran up to them and introduced himself.

"Hello mr. president, my name is Harold I'm the store manager, we can take you to a private checkout if you'd like?"

Fitz shook Harold's hand.

"Thanks Harold but I think we're good."

"Okay, please let us know if you need anything."

Fitz nodded and Harold scurried off.

"Hi there," Fitz said as they stood behind a middle aged woman and her son.

The lady seemed shocked that he spoke to her.

"Mr. President - wow. Olivia."

Olivia was surprised she knew her name.

"Hi," she responded with a smile.

"You got a lot of stuff there, big family?"

"Yeah, 5 kids and they're all boys, this is my youngest, Thomas, say hello Thomas, that's the president."

"Hello president Grant."

"Hi Thomas, you know my middle name is Thomas."

"Really?"

"Yep, so we have something in common, you know, other than our great hair."

Thomas laughed.

"How old are you Thomas?"

"I'm 9, I'm gonna be 10 tomorrow?"

"No way, it's my birthday tomorrow too."

"Really?"

"Yes and you know what Thomas," Fitz pulled out his wallet and handed him a crisp $100 bill, "Happy birthday."

Thomas took the money and held it up to his mother and her mouth fell open.

"Mom look, I got $100, I can go to Dave and Busters and play games with Jack and Robby."

"Wow, Mr. President, Thomas say thank you."

"Thank you Mr. President."

"You're welcome, enjoy your birthday."

"Your total is $297, cash or credit ma'am," the cashier said.

Fitz still had his wallet in his hand and he took out his credit card.

"Is it okay if I pay?"

The woman looked up at him, blankly for a moment then her eyes focused.

"No, no way, you've done enough, I can't accept anymore."

Fitz smiled.

"It's little Thomas' birthday, I'm sure half this stuff is for him anyways. I insist."

"I don't know what to say."

"Say yes mom, he's a cool guy."

Fitz chuckled, so did Olivia.

"Thank you, Mr. President."

"Don't mention it- I didn't get your name."

"Linda."

"Don't mention it Linda."

Fitz smiled and swiped his card.

They stood waiting as the cashier packed the bags.

"My husband and I were going to lose our home, we almost did and if you didn't sign the foreclosure prevention act in 2009 we would have. Never thought I'd get to thank you in person, so thank you, my husband is gonna lose it when I tell him I met you. He still wears your campaign t shirt around the house, especially since your 2009 stimulus package helped him get a new job after he lost his old one during the recession."

"Wow, really, that's- that's great news."

"Yeah, we're definitely better off now, we got into some debt during the 2007 recession because our oldest son Derek got leukemia, we lost our health insurance and we sank into debt but then you passed Grantcare and we qualified before we sank too deep so that helped us out a lot."

"And Derek's okay?"

"Yep, cancer free for the past year and a half and going strong."

"Alright ma'am, your bags are ready."

Linda smiled.

"It was an honor mr president, we knew you were in town but we never dreamed we'd see you."

She stretched her hand for a shake but Fitz hugged her instead.

"I wish you and your family all the best."

"Thank you Mr. President."

"And tell your husband I said hi, better yet, let's take a picture, I bet he'd lose his mind."

Linda smiled again and pulled out her phone.

"He absolutely would."

They bundled together and the cashier took a picture of a four of them. After the picture, they said goodbye and then Fitz and Olivia checked out and headed back to the cabin.

On the way there, they passed a archery range.

"Woah, woah, archery."

Fitz tapped the partition and opened the screen.

"Stop the car Henry and get Tom over here, thank you.'

Henry spoke into his ear piece and then a few moments later all the suv's came to a stop and Tom walked up to the door and opened it.

"Sir."

"Tom, I want to go to that archery range."

"I'm sorry sir, I don't think that's possible."

Fitz smiled.

"Let's try again, Tom I was to go to that archery range."

"Sir, I really don't think that's possible."

"Let's try one more time, Tom I'm going to that archery range."

Tom nodded.

"Yes sir, just give us a moment to secure the area."

"Thank you, Tom."

Tom closed the door and walked away.

"You're really annoying you know that," Olivia said as she faced him.

"I do know that," he said with a chuckle.

"It was really nice what you did to help that lady, especially what she said about her son and losing their jobs and stuff."

Fitz smiled.

"That's the best part, knowing policies actually translate to helping real people, I like hearing the stories."

"I know, it was really nice to hear too," Olivia smiled as she got an idea, "you wanna make out till they secure the range?"

Fitz didn't reply, he just grabbed her and kissed her. Olivia giggled and kissed him over and over again.

"You're the best kisser in the world, you know that," Olivia said as she smiled.

Fitz stuck his tongue out and circled his it around hers then sucked it.

"Oh-"

Fitz chuckled as Olivia's eyes opened wide and then she pulled back and took a breath.

Seconds later Tom knocked the door.

"Sir, the area is secure."

"Okay," Fitz yelled.

He kissed her once last time and then he opened the door. Tom, Hal, Josh and 6 other guards escorted them to the lobby of the range, where they paid for three rounds and then one of the instructors took them outside to the range, where the target boards were.

They each had 30 arrows and their own target board. They waited for the instructor to leave before began the game.

"Okay so I think we need stakes to make this fun, are you in?"

"Okay, if I win, we have to stay an extra day," Olivia suggested.

"That's not fair, you know I can't say no to you regardless."

Olivia smirked.

"I know, what do you want?"

Fitz pondered.

"A blowjob in the car on the way home."

She laughed.

"Deal and a real wasted opportunity because I planned on giving you one regardless."

"What? Okay I change my mind."

"Nope, you snooze you lose, isn't that what you told me this morning when you stole my sandwich?"

"Yes but-"

"No buts baby, you have yourself a deal."

"Deal."

They both pulled the first arrow. They were standing 30 feet from the bullseye target.

"You go first," Olivia suggested.

"Okay."

Fitz line the arrow in the bow, drew it back and then shot it. He hit just outside the target.

He looked over at her and smirked.

Olivia lined her arrow in her bow.

"You got one in the chamber now, what you gonna do with it," he teased.

Olivia licked the tip of index finger and held up it to measure the wind.

"Winds is west and 13 knots, air pressure feels like 29 hg, the target is 30.25 feet away and 5'6 high."

"What happening right now?"

"I'm just measuring how much force in need to shoot the arrow with in order to hit the target given air pressure, wind speed and the height and distance of the target."

Olivia lined up her arrow once again and then shot it straight brought the target.

Olivia jumped up and took a bow.

"I'll be here all day everyone."

"How did you do that?"

"Math."

Fitz laughed.

"Damn it, I'm gonna lose aren't I?"

"Yep."

After three rounds and 30 arrows they were done. Olivia won.

"I wish I could say I'm mad about spending another day here but I'm not, I'll call Cy and tell him we'll be here a little longer."

"Before or after your blowjob?"

Fitz smiled.

"After."

"We literally have an 8 minute drive back to the cabin, I bet I can make you cum before we get there."

Fitz took that as a challenge.

"Talk is cheap baby, you're gonna have to prove it."

Olivia took his hand and tugged him to the car. She had his pants unzipped before they even closed the door. She immediately started sucking him off as she stroked him. It was quick and rough which was in stark contrast to the way she usually did it, soft and attentive and she often tried to fit his whole cock in her mouth though she'd never been successful. As he came she swallowed it all because the last thing she needed was cum stains all over the car for the guards to have to deal with once they left.

When she was finished she zipped his pants up and smiled at him.

"I've got 1 minute and change to spare baby."

"You're amazing,"

"I know, you've only told me that 137 times."

"137 actual times?"

"Yep, I remember every single time."

"Wow."

"Yep, you've told me I was beautiful 192 times, that I was perfect 104 times, that I was smart 77 times, that I was annoying 44 times."

Fitz laughed.

"You really are amazing."

"138," she said with a smile.

By the time Fitz gave her a peck in the lips, the car pulled up outside the driveway and Hal tapped the glass.

"We're good Hal."

Hal opened the door and let them out.

The guards brought the grocery bags in the kitchen and Fitz called Cyrus to let him know they'd be staying an extra day and he wasn't happy about it but Fitz ignored him. After the call he helped Olivia unpack the groceries then helped her make another batch of the bacon avocado sandwiches that he had grown obsessed with. When she was done, she covered them and made sure Fitz didn't touch them as they changed into bathing suits. Fitz wore black swim trunks. Fitz watched as Olivia tied her tiny black string bikini top around her neck and then tied her bottoms around her hips, it stopped two degrees short of being a thong.

She stood in the full body mirror going over her appearance. Fitz walked up behind her and held onto her waist and kissed her shoulder.

"You look amazing," he said as he ran his hands up and down her body and then cupped her breasts firmly and squeezed them.

Olivia felt like teasing.

"I'm horny baby what are you going to do about that?"

"I've got some ideas..."

"I'm sure you do but if you want it, you'll have to come and get it."

Olivia shimmied quickly out of his grasp and jumped on the bed.

Fitz laughed and crossed his arms.

"If you want it, you have to come and get it, you have to catch me. That's the game."

Fitz didn't say anything, he just circled the bed until he quickly lounged at her. She managed to jump of the bed and ran through the door before he could get his hands on her. He chased her around the cabin and found himself getting painfully aroused as he did so which he knew was her plan.

He lost her in the living room, he could hear her giggling but he couldn't see her and he decided that he'd wait there, in a quiet corner because eventually she'd have to come out from where she was. Just over a minute later, he heard the patter of her footsteps close by.

As the footsteps came closer and he could hear her breathing he knew she would be walking past him at any moment. After a few seconds she stepped past him and he jumped out and grabbed her. She screamed excitedly.

"Gotcha."

He pushed her back against the wall and untied the strings of her bikini with haste.

"I hate it when you tease me," he said as he pulled his trunks down and freed himself.

"That's why I do it."

He lifted her leg in the air and entered her, slowly.

"Oh god that feels good."

He opened her leg wider and then entered her again, deeper this time.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god," she cried out.

He pulled out and turned her around and untied her bikini top and let it fall to the floor then her groped her breast roughly. He walked her over to the hallway table, bent her over and banged her against the table until they both came.

When they are done he gave her a moment to catch her breath then helped her get dressed in her bikini. He threw on his trunks and then they headed to the kitchen to bring their sandwiches and beer out to the huge white sunbed next to the pool on the patio. There was a huge sunbrella shading the bed and protecting them from the summer sun and Olivia was thankful for that. They both laid down, Fitz started eating his sandwich immediately, Olivia seemed content to just lay with her eyes half closed. To him, she seemed happy, he wasn't sure if it was just the afterglow from what he'd just done to her in the living room but she seemed at peace.

"Baby, don't you want your sandwich?"

"Are you gonna eat it again?'

He chuckled.

"No, you made me two this time, I think I'm good."

She smiled and sat up and bite a piece of her sandwich and took a sip of her beer and then laid down again.

"So, tell me about your family history, where is your family from?" Fitz asked.

Olivia smiled and took another sip of her beer.

"My family history is actually pretty interesting. On my dad side, well... his ancestors were from the Asante tribe, they were royalty the way he told it to me, they lived in the Kumasi metropolis in the gold coast of Africa. In the late 1600's, the royal family was captured during a tribal war and sold to slave traders and taken to the Brazil. Ami, that was her name, she was a princess, they sold her to a plantation and wasn't there very long before she ran away with her brothers. They hid in the hills and they regularly raided the plantations and helped other slaves runaway until they formed their own free communities in the mountains. Funny enough, the Asante tribe of the gold coast are known to be ferocious warriors, they were brutal fighters and they were well versed in guerilla warfare which is how they managed to stand against the Portuguese for so long. They called her queen Ami, she led the slave rebellions. She was tall and strong and fearless and she fought until her last breath. She didn't have any children but her brothers did. Apparently at the time, her brother mated with an indigenous indian woman and that was a scandal. Then their children had children and so on until my grandfather travelled to America, he met my grandmother shortly after, I don't know much about her other than the fact that she was descended from slaves who ran away to New York, where she was born and raised. My mother was born in New York as well. Her mother was Egyptian and her father was native american from the Cheyenne tribe and well yes, that's why I'm sitting in front of you right now."

"Wow, that's- I didn't expect that but wow."

"What about your history?"

"I can't top that."

"You can try," Olivia teased.

"I have ancient celt."

"It's not cooler than my history but it is pretty cool," Olivia teased again.

"That's because you're amazing, you can't top amazing."

Olivia leaned over and kissed him.

"I love you, I'm so excited for your birthday tomorrow."

Fitz smiled.

"I'm just glad you're here spending it with me."

Olivia kissed him again.

"Me too."


	50. Chapter 50

Romantic indie music fill the air as Fitz opened his eyes and sat up. Olivia was gone from the bed.

As he was about to stand up when Olivia emerged from the entrance with a camera and snapped a picture of him without warning.

"Happy birthday Mr. President."

Fitz realized there was something on his head and reached up to see what it was. It was a birthday princess crown. He chuckled and pulled it off.

"Thank you."

"I have bacon in the kitchen for you, just bacon, I made all the bacon we had and it's just sitting there waiting for you but first I want to give you your gift."

She walked over to her suitcase and pulled out the wrapped gift and handed it to Fitz.

"Happy birthday," she said again as she kissed him, "open it."

Fitz smiled and proceeded to open his gift. Once he had the wrapping paper of he was a little confused.

"A cock ring, what does that do?"

"You've never had one before?"

"No."

Olivia laughed.

"This just got 100 times more fun."

Olivia took the package and opened it and pulled out the ring shaped device.

"Pull your underpants down."

"What's that?"

"Just pulled them down."

Fitz pulled his boxers down and while he did that Olivia added batteries in the remote for the cock ring. Once he was had his pants down, Olivia stretched the silicone ring around the base of his shaft.

She tucked a loose curl behind her ear and grabbed the remote and turned on the cock ring to a low vibrating pulse and then stopped it.

"Holy fucking shit."

Olivia laughed at the expression on his face.

"Is this a penis vibrator?"

"Essentially."

Olivia turned on the ring again and turned up the pulse. Fitz groaned and closed his eyes as he leaned his head back on the pillow.

"That feels so good."

Olivia got on top of his and kissed his lips and then his chin and then his neck and she slowly worked her way down torso. She stroked him slowly as she licked and kissed up and down his shaft. She looked up at Fitz and smiled because the look on his face was priceless. He bit his lips and held onto the sheets as he stared at her with wide eyes.

She tickled his tip with a her tongue and heard him choke out a chuckle. She looked up at him and smiled and then swallowed him farther and farther into her mouth until she couldn't take him any further and then she sucked him off hard.

Between Olivia blowing him and his ring vibrating at the base of his shaft, he physically couldn't hold out.

"Can you hold on a little longer baby," she said softly, teasing almost.

She stroked him a few more times and he came all over his stomach in what seemed like a full body orgasm.

"Shit, shit ,shit, shit, shit."

Olivia smiled and stopped the vibrator and took it off him and then pulled him up and dragged him to the bathroom. He was still trying to catch his breath as she set the water in the tub and filled it with bubble bath soap and bath oil. She finished stripping him down and watched as he got in the tub and then joined him. She sat behind him and wrapped her arms around him as he leaned back on her chest.

"This is nice," Fitz said, not directly to her but more as a loud thought.

Olivia smiled and kissed his hair.

"I had Tom push back your intelligence briefing. Josh told me you don't have to meet with your advisors everyday, he said you can just read your briefing."

"I know but I'd rather hear it from my advisors, especially when I'm not at the whitehouse. I still read the briefing though."

"Oh okay, well you can do that later."

"What time is it?"

"After 11."

"I slept till 11am?"

"Yeah, I turned your alarm off."

Fitz chuckled.

"I wish I could say I'm surprised you did that but I'm not, I should also thank you because I feel terrific which I'm pretty sure is from that amazing blowjob but I'm guessing extra sleep contributed as well."

Olivia laughed and wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed his neck.

"Only the best blow jobs for you baby, you deserve it."

"That is true."

She giggled.

"You're so annoying."

"That is also true," Fitz said jokingly, "so what do you have planned for me today?"

"Nothing much, I was thinking we could just hang out today."

"That sounds good."

"Gerry called to wish you a happy birthday but you were sleeping, I told him you'd call him back later."

"Okay, I'll call him once we get out of here."

Olivia took the sponge and ran it across his chest.

"You know how much I love you right?"

She kissed across his shoulder and up his neck.

Fitz smiled.

"Alot?"

"Yes, a whole lot, more than anyone."

"I love you too, you have no idea what it means to me to have you in my life."

Olivia smiled and leaned over to check her phone.

It was time.

"You know Fitz, I actually do have a surprise for you, I need you to get dressed."

"Can it wait a little, we just got in here, I was enjoying this."

"No, it can't, it's imperative that you see the surprise now."

"So dramatic, but alright, let's wash off."

He stood up and pulled her up as well. They both showered quickly and then Fitz brushed his teeth while Olivia went to the bedroom. He was surprised that she already had clothes prepared for him.

She was already dressed, she wore a white maxi dress with ruffles that came off the sleeves. It looked like a beach wedding dress and Fitz immediately thought he figured out what the surprised was.

"Are we getting married? Is there like a priest waiting out there for us to get eloped?"

"What? No."

"Damn, that would've been a great surprise."

Olivia pouted.

"Now you're making me feel bad, like my surprise isn't that great."

He walked over to her and kissed her.

"No, I'm sure whatever you planned will be great, forget about that, I'm not complaining, that idea was crazy."

"It wasn't that crazy," Olivia said with a smirk.

Fitz was puzzled.

"Okay now I'm confused."

"Just get dressed," she said with a smile.

"Okay."

Fitz threw on the white button down polo shirt and navy chinos Olivia had laid out for him. She brushed his hair and pinched his cheeks (just for fun) and made sure he was appropriate before took a ribbon and held it in front of him.

"I have to blindfold you."

Fitz smiled and bend down a little so she could reach up and tie it around his eyes.

"Liv, if I bump my toe, I'm gonna throw you in the pool."

She laughed and wrapped both his arms around her waist.

"I'm right in front of you, just walk slowly behind me okay babe, don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you."

Olivia walked forward slowly and led him down the hall and through the living room. The music was still on, it was louder than before. She opened the door and led him out to the patio and then stopped him.

"I'm going to take your blindfold off in 3..2..1...SURPRISE!" everyone yelled.

Fitz didn't wait for Olivia to take the blindfold off, he slipped it off himself and was surprised to see about 30 people gathered around the pool and on the patio. Gerry, Kenna, Abby, Harrison, Stephen, Sahara, Cyrus, James and Ella were there along with most of his old friends that he hadn't seen in years.

There was a huge table with a spread of food; everything from kebabs, quiches, little sandwiches and cocktail shrimp along with a huge cake garnished with berries. There were balloons, streamers and decorations everywhere there was also a pinata.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR. PRESIDENT!"

Fitz turned to Olivia.

"I know it's no wedding but I think I did alright," Olivia teased.

Fitz smiled and kissed her on the lips and Olivia turned red.

"Fitz, there are a lot of people here."

"Oh please, get over yourself."

Olivia laughed and smacked him on the arm and then she turned and took a took a cup filled with bacon from Abby and handed it to Fitz.

"This is yours by the way."

"You know me so well."

Gerry walked over with Kenna breaking them from their conversation.

"Happy birthday dad."

"Happy birthday Mr. Grant."

"Thanks guys, I'm glad you two made it."

Fitz hugged Gerry, then Kenna and Gerry handed him a small gift bag.

"This is from me and Kenna."

"Thanks, I'm gonna open it later okay."

"Yeah sure, we're gonna go hang out by the rail, we'll see you in a few."

"Okay."

Gerry took a few pieces of Fitz's bacon from Fitz cup then ran off.

Fitz took Olivia's hand and they headed over to greet their friends. Fitz saw Cyrus first.

"Cy, I'm surprised you made it here?"

"Olivia threatened me," Cyrus complained.

"I sure did," she said with a smile.

"Mr. president," James said excitedly, "happy birthday."

"Thank you so much for coming James, you too Ella," Fitz said as he tickled Ella.

They made small talk for a while before they moved onto to the next group, which was Abby, Huck, Harrison, Kamaya, Sahara and Elliot.

"Hi everyone, thanks for coming."

"Happy birthday Mr. President," Abby was the first to say, then Huck joined, then Harrison. Elliot and Kamaya were starstruck, they'd never met Fitz before.

"Fip," Sahara screamed.

"Hey Sahara, I'm glad you took time out of your busy schedule to pay me a visit."

They all chuckled.

"Fitz, this is Kamaya: Sahara's mom and this is Elliot, one of my close friends." Fitz shook both their hands.

"Any friend of Olivia is a friend of mine."

Elliot and Kamaya smiled but neither said a word because they had no idea what to say. They chatted for a little while then they moved to greet some of Fitz old navy buddies.

"Mr. president," John said.

"You son of a bitch, I can't believe you made it, how long has it been, like 6 years?"

"Just about that."

They all started laughing.

"Liv, how did you find these guys?"

"Lauren helped me out, she has all your contacts- by the way, I'm Olivia we spoke on the phone, it's nice to finally to faces to the names."

"Oh, I thought you guys met, I'm sorry, Liv this is Lena, John, Brad, Jake and Ron."

Olivia took turns shaking their hands and greeted each of them by their names.

"It nice to finally meet some of Fitz's friends."

"I'm sorry but Mr. president, you need to explain how you met this beautiful woman standing beside you," said Jake.

Fitz chuckled.

"She is beautiful isn't?'

Olivia blushed and bit her lip.

"Stop, you're embarrassing me, he always does this."

"She's modest guys, she doesn't like to rub it in people's faces."

"Fitz," Olivia scolded softly.

"Okay, I'll stop, I'll stop," he said with a chuckle.

"I'm sure you guys have a lot to catch up on, I'm gonna leave you to it," Olivia said with a smile, "it was really nice to meet all of you, just let me know if you need anything okay."

They all nodded, Fitz kissed her on the cheek and she headed back over to her group of friends.

"Oh god, I can't believe I actually met the president, he's so much more handsome in person and you can feel his presence," said Elliot

"I know my man is handsome, you don't have to tell me."

"Show off," Abby teased.

Olivia took Sahara from her mom and held her on her hip while she played with her toy.

"You've been awfully quiet Kamaya," said Harrison.

"No, I'm fine, what's the president doing?"

"He's catching up with his friends," said Olivia.

"This is a great house, we walked down the trail earlier, that lake is freaking gorgeous," Elliot said.

"I know, isn't beautiful here, the air is so fresh."

They stood around for a few hours making small talk then Olivia decided it was time to start the games.

"Everyone come hither, come my children, come," she yelled.

She heard chuckles as they all gathered around her.

"Fitz, it's your birthday, front and center."

He stepped through the crowd and stood beside her.

"So, since you're the birthday boy or I guess birthday man, you get the first whack at the pinata."

She held up the blindfold once again and handed his the pinata stick.

"I don't want to hit you so you need to be at least 20 feet away," said Fitz to Olivia.

Olivia smiled and nodded.

"Where's Abby, tell her to come closer so I can accidentally hit her."

"Hey!" Abby yelled from the back.

Fitz chuckled, knowing he pissed off Abby and then bowed so Olivia could tie the blindfold around his eyes.

"Can you see anything?" she asked as she checked to make sure he wasn't.

"No, I'm completely absent of sight."

"Good."

She stepped back.

"Liv?"

"Yes."

"You still sound too close, step back a little more."

She smiled and stepped back.

"Is this good?"

"Yep," Fitz said with a smile.

It was really the first time a lot of their guests had seen how intimate they were around each other. Cyrus was used to it, so were the guards but everyone else was pretty much amazed.

Gerry walked over and spun Fitz around a few times and then stepped back.

"Go dad."

Fitz took the first swing at the pinata and missed. He took a second swing and missed again.

"You gotta do better than that dad," Gerry teased.

Fitz laughed and swung again and barely grazed it.

"Higher and to the right," Olivia called out.

"Cheater," Abby yelled.

Fitz laughed and did just as Olivia told him and hit it harder this time but it was still intact.

"Good job, one more time, just a little harder baby."

Fitz swung again and hit it so hard the all the treats in the pinata went flying, some ended up in the pool, some on the food table and most on the ground.

Fitz pulled his blindfold off.

"Did I get it?"

He looked down at all the candy and gift cards and money.

Olivia walked over to him and hugged him.

"Good job."

"When did you get time to plan all of this?"

"Shh, we'll talk about that later, now it's time for you to pin the tail on the donkey, but you should put blindfold back on."

Fitz tied it once again.

Olivia gave him the sticker and guided him over to the wall.

"It's directly in front of you," Olivia said.

"Quit cheating Liv," Abby yelled again.

They all chuckled.

"Fine, I'll stop."

Olivia stepped back.

Fitz felt up and down the wall and then stuck it on the donkey's eyes then took his blindfold off.

"Okay well that's definitely not where it's suppose to go."

"Let me try dad."

Gerry took the blindfold and tried but pinned it on the feet then Kenna tried, Abby tried even Sahara tried.

"Liv, why don't you try?" Fitz suggested.

"Okay."

Abby tied the blindfold on her and spun her around twice a much as everyone else. Olivia got dizzy.

"Woah," she stumbled and bumped into Gerry.

"You alright Liv?"

"Yeah, Abby is just dramatic."

"You sure?" Fitz asked.

"Positive."

Fitz handed her the sticker, she walked right up and pinned it on the tail.

"I hate you," Abby said with a smile.

Olivia smiled and took her blindfold off.

"That's how it's done."

They played a few more games and then Olivia called everyone over to the table and turned the volume of the music down.

"Gather everyone, gather."

She waited until they were all around the table and Fitz was beside her.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today, to get through this thing called life - I'm kidding those are prince lyrics."

They chuckled.

"Okay, everyone should have at least a beer in their hand, Gerry, Kenna, caprisuns for you."

"Liv, come on," Gerry said with a laugh.

"Okay, I want to thank everyone for so so much coming, I appreciate it, I know Fitz appreciates it."

"I do," Fitz added.

Olivia smiled.

"Let's sing happy birthday to the birthday boy and then we can cut the cake, I baked it by the way so if it tastes horrible, don't tell me."

Fitz chuckled.

"Okay everybody, 1,2,3… Happy birthday to you," the crowd joined in, "Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday Mr. President, Happy birthday to you, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

They all applauded. Olivia held up the cake for Fitz blow out his candles and he did. She took some of the whipped cream from the cake and whipped it on his nose.

Abby walked up to them with her phone.

"Let me take a picture of you guys, you look so cute."

They both held up the cake and smiled for the picture. After they took a few pictures, Olivia placed the cake on the table and cut a piece for Fitz and served it on a plate.

"Try it."

Fitz took a fork and tasted a piece.

"That is amazing."

"Liv, don't forget about me," Gerry called out.

"I won't."

Olivia cut Fitz another piece and then cut smaller pieces for anyone that wanted cake, which was everyone.

They laughed and danced and she watched as Fitz socialized with his old buddies, it made her smile, they were making fun of him but he took it all in good fun.

By 5:30 in the afternoon, Olivia decided it was time to get them out, she was determined to have the rest of the evening alone with Fitz.

She gathered everyone once again and thanked them for coming and then she politely let them know that they guards were on standby and ready to take them back to the jet or their hotel rooms, wherever they needed to go.

By 6:30, it was just her little squad of friends left. Gerry, Kenna and everyone else had said their goodbyes and left.

"Okay guys, it's time go."

"Come on Liv, it's us, are you really gonna kick us out," Abby said in protest.

"Uh yeah, I'm kicking every single one of you guys out, I have plans for tonight."

Fitz smiled.

"What are you smiling about?" Abby said to Fitz.

"Oh nothing," Fitz replied.

Olivia walked over to Abby and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks so much for coming Abb and thanks for all your help."

She walked over to Harrison and Huck and gave them both kisses.

"Thank you guys for coming, especially you Huck, you need to come to D.C. more often."

Huck smiled.

"Uh I'll try."

"What am I chopped liver?" Harrison asked.

"Get over yourself."

She walked over to Elliot and kissed him.

"Thanks so much so coming El."

"Thanks for inviting me," he leaned closer, "you see how he's staring at you, he's gonna blow your back out tonight girl."

Olivia jumped back and laughed.

"Elliot."

He shrugged.

"You know it's true."

She shook her head and walked over to Kamaya and Sahara.

"Thanks for bringing her."

"Thanks for inviting us."

She kissed them both.

"Don't mention it."

They lounged around for a while, to Olivia's chagrin until she finally got them to leave before 7.

Olivia and Fitz escorted them down to the gate and saw them off. As soon as the cars left the property, Fitz turned to Olivia.

"Baby, this was seriously perfect, how did you pull this off?"

"Well, I just had to call everyone, book hotel rooms and flights, order all the party decorations and ship them here, wake up at 5 this morning to make finger food and bake your cake."

"It was delicious, by the way."

Olivia laughed and shook her head.

"Thank you for the party, I really had fun."

"You're so very welcome, I'm glad you had fun."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and reached up and kissed him.

"I love you."

"I love you too," Fitz said with a smile.

They walked back to cabin, the patio was cleaned by the staff and everything was was put away. They headed inside to the living room.

"Are you hungry?"

"No really."

"Perfect."

They walked to the kitchen and Fitz sat by the island.

"Is there any cake left, it was really good."

Olivia smiled as she took the vodka from the bar.

"I hid a piece of the cake in the fridge for you earlier."

"You're doing god's work Olivia."

"Shut up," she said shyly.

"So Sahara's mom was here but not her father, where is he?"

"He's a deadbeat, he comes and goes."

"That's unfortunate, she a great kid. What about your friend Huck, he's really quiet, in a creepy way."

"Shut up, Huck's not creepy."

"What does he do, he's not a doctor like your other friends."

"He used to work for my dad back when he was just running a security firm and not being an international criminal. He was one of his guards and he was really nice to me, I've known him since I was 12. When my dad started doing risky business, Huck didn't really want to be apart of it do he left and we've been close friends ever since."

Olivia gave him the abbreviated version of their relationship because she didn't want to get into it.

"What does he do now?"

"He works for a cyber security firm."

"What about Elliot?"

"He has the hots for you, he thinks you're so handsome, if I were you, I wouldn't get too close, Elliot can be handsy sometimes."

She took a few limes from the fridge and sliced them up then she opened the salt shaker.

"What are you doing?"

Olivia turned around and smiled.

"We're doing tequila shots."

Fitz stood up and walked over to her.

"No, no, no, no. I'm not good with vodka, I don't just get drunk, I get completely inebriated."

"Is that so," she said with a smirk.

Fitz sort of realized what she was doing.

"I'm not getting drunk and having sex with you, I'm just not, I don't wanna do anything that-"

"Fitz, just relax."

She squeezed a slice of the lime on Fitz's neck, licked the the salt off her hand, downed the shot and then licked the lime juice off his neck.

Fitz chuckled when he felt her tongue.

She handed him a shot glass filled with vodka.

"Your turn."

"This is a bad idea," he said with a smile.

"Come on, don't be a pussy. If you want pussy tonight, you better take that shot."

Fitz's mouth fell open, she was absolutely amazing.

He queezed the lime on her neck, licked the salt, downed the shot and then licked her neck.

Olivia took one more shot, she got Fitz to take 4 more. She didn't want him drunk off his ass but she wanted him to be careless. After his last shot, she pulled him into the room and push him down on the bed.

"Let that soak in, I'll be right back."

"Oh rough, I like it," he said with a smile.

The alcohol hadn't really began affecting him as yet, he needed a little more time.

Olivia went to the bathroom to wrap up her hair and take off her dress. She had on a little white sheer lingerie one piece underneath. Once she was done she opened the door and stepped out into the bedroom.

"Woah!"

Fitz was completely naked and sprawled about in the bed. He was hard as a rock and stroking himself.

"Surprise," he said with a lazy smile.

She smiled and walked over to him and climbed on top of him.

"You got the party started without me."

"After party you mean?"

She chuckled and pulled down the straps of her one piece and lifted Fitz's hand to her breasts and held them there and then she leaned down and kissed him.

Fitz moved his hand down to her ass and slapped it and then he grabbed her by the waist and flipped their positions so she was underneath him. He ripped the crotch of her body suit and then pulled it down her legs then threw it on the floor. He opened her legs wide as he kneeled in front of her and kissed her again.

"Baby I'm going to fuck you so hard."

She giggled and grabbed both his cheeks and kissed him but Fitz wasn't laughing. He was serious, he mood was complete opposite to what it had been a few moments earlier, no doubt a result of his 5 tequila shots.

He wrapped his hands around her throat with one hand and used his thumb to rub on her clit with the other hand. He alternated between sucking on her nipples and kissing up and down her body hungrily.

"Put it in right now," she said breathlessly.

Fitz leaned up and slowly guided himself inside her. She whimpered softly and kissed him as he thrusted softly back and forth.

As the moments passed, the room became hotter and Fitz thrusted faster and harder and rougher.

"Give it to me," she screamed as she dug her nails into his back.

Fitz kissed her, sloppily, on her lips, her chin, her neck. He was too drunk and horny to focus on just one place so he kissed all over as he pounded her like a maniac. She was getting overwhelmed and couldn't catch her breath.

"Baby wait," she said breathlessly as she held on to his chest.

Fitz stopped and pulled out and watched as Olivia squeezed her legs together and arched her back, trying to catch her breath. He smirked mischievously and Olivia wondered what that meant until he leaned over and opened her legs wide and buried his face in between them and started sucking on clit. She felt a shiver run up her spine.

"Oh god," she screamed.

"God can't help you."

She bit her lips and grabbed onto his hair.

"Stop, wait."

Fitz popped his head up and smiled.

"I'm not gonna stop," Fitz said as kissed all over her mouth and neck, the liquor was still strong in his breath, she could still smell it.

Olivia moaned delightfully as she felt him suck in her neck, giving her a love bite no doubt.

"Because you love it, you love what I'm doing to you but you're gonna have to choose, do you want my tongue or my cock?"

"Baby-"

Fitz leaned up and stared at her seriously.

"Tongue or cock?"

"I want your cock," Olivia said breathlessly.

"Good girl."

Fitz sat up and turned her in her stomach and then entered her again, slower and gentler this time but his strokes were deep and pointed. With every stroke, he touched her bundle of nerves that made her feel like she was going to explode and after a few more strokes, she did. She exploded into a screaming, gut wrenching orgasm. Fitz held her tight as she came and as soon as she settled and caught her breath, Fitz started again.

It was a long night, Fitz brought her to almost 6 orgasms before her body gave out from exhaustion. Fitz was at his 3rd when his body gave out too and he collapsed on top of Olivia and they both passed out, hot and sweaty, wrapped in each other's arms.


	51. Chapter 51

Fitz woke up around 12pm the next day. He expected to have at least a mild hangover but he felt fine apart from his aching muscles. He looked over at Olivia who was dead to the world, she didn't move as she slept, he might have checked her pulse if he didn't hear her breathing. He thought it was funny that Olivia was so worn out when he was the one who did most of the giving last night and Olivia did the taking but then he remembered she'd been up since 5 in the morning getting ready for the party.

He began having vague flashbacks about what happened during the night. It was a perfect night if there ever was one.

He got up and showered and brushed his teeth then grabbed a cup of coffee. He heated some leftovers from the party and got to work reading his daily briefing and a few other things to keep himself busy until Olivia woke up.

Almost three hours later and she was still asleep. She reminded him of himself when he was a teenager and could sleep till 5pm in evening, he had no idea how she was able to sleep for such a long time. He was bored, he tried watching tv and got nothing out of it except for the news that BNC was going to air a new documentary on Olivia tomorrow at 8pm and he definitely planned on catching it. He went for a walk and killed almost another hour before he came back and went to the bedroom to find her still sleeping. He decided it was time to wake her up because it close to 4pm and it was ridiculous that she was still asleep.

He moved the blanket from her face and gently nudged her.

"Livie wake up."

She didn't move so he nudged her again.

"Baby."

She stretched and yawned and covered her face with the blanket. He chuckled and moved the blanket from her face and kissed her.

"Wake up, I'm bored."

"No, my body hurts."

"My body hurts too, you don't see me complaining."

She smiled.

"What time is it?"

Fitz checked his watch.

"Almost 4."

"What?"

"Yes."

She sat up and the blanket slid down revealing her breast.

"Look at Harold and Kumar, so perky, I just wanna squeeze them."

"No," she said laughing.

"Just one squeeze."

"No."

He snuck his hands under the blanket and started tickling her. She laughed and he kissed her.

"I love you," Fitz said with a smile.

"I love you too."

She sat up and got off the bed.

"I need a shower, I feel sticky, you know, since you decided to jizz all over me last night."

Fitz chuckled.

"But it was glorious wasn't it."

She smiled and bit her lip.

"It was pretty great," she got in front of him and leaned closer, "and hot and sticky and I fucking love it when you cum all over me."

"Don't you dare start talking all sexy, I'm still recovering," Fitz joked.

She kissed him and then leaned up.

"I'm going to take a nice long warm bath."

"I'll come with you."

"Okay."

Fitz followed her to bathroom and set the bath for her as she brushed her teeth and wrapped her hair that had become frizzy and curly from all the hot, sweaty lovemaking sessions through the night.

"Your bath is ready."

"Coming."

She finished fixing her hair and then walked over to the tub of warm, soapy water and stepped in.

She leaned back and sighed in relaxation.

"I needed this so bad, my thighs hurt, my vagina is really sore and my nipples feel like they're gonna fall off."

Fitz smiled shyly.

"Sorry baby."

She chuckled.

"Are you kidding me, aching sexual organs aside, I feel great, getting your brain fucked out by the man you love isn't the worst thing in the world."

He smiled and sat beside her next to the bathtub.

She was in the bathroom for almost an hour before she got out and they headed to the kitchen together. She grabbed some fruit and water and then they sat cuddled on the couch as she ate.

They spent most of the evening watching movies on the couch until later in the evening he took her out to patio because he had some things he wanted to talk about. It was a cool night, cooler than usual. He could see the goosebumps all over her arms as they stood by the railing.

"You wanna go back inside, it's cooler than I anticipated."

"Yeah sure, let's go in the jacuzzi, that would be fun."

"Yeah, we could do that."

"Perfect."

They went back to the living room and Fitz turned on the jacuzzi while Olivia went to bedroom to change. Fitz threw on his swim trunks and Olivia wore a red string bikini but stayed topless.

"Nice," Fitz complimented as they walked back to the kitchen.

She poured wine for herself and scotch for him and then they headed to the jacuzzi. He helped her in and then got in as well.

Olivia took a sip of her wine and then set her glass down. Fitz didn't drink his scotch, he wanted to talk with her first.

"Liv, I wanted to talk about some things."

"No way, I didn't know that," she teased.

He'd been acting fishy all evening so she got the inkling that something was on his mind, she had actually wanted to speak with him as well but she let him go because she was sure it was about the same thing.

"What did you want to talk about?" She asked.

"Us, I don't know where to begin but I know that I'm ready to start a family with you, I'm more than ready but I want to know how you feel?"

"Well, you know I want to have little babies with you."

Fitz smiled.

"But?"

"There's no but," she said as she leaned over and kissed him softly.

"You're on birth control that's a huge but."

"I know but I'm scheduled to remove my IUD by the end of November, I was going to get new one but if starting a family is something you're serious about then I'm serious too, I've actually given a fair amount of though to this. I'd stop birth control completely and we could start trying right away. I think that 6 months of us being public won't be too crazy to start trying to get pregnant right, I mean obviously it would take time to actually get pregnant and then I'd have at least another 3 or 4 months before I start showing."

Fitz smiled, he really couldn't express how amazing it felt to hear her speak so frankly about it.

"You really mean that?"

"Yeah, of course, we knew this was coming right?"

"We'd have to get married first."

"I'm not crazy about a big wedding, I think we should elope. Something simple and private."

Fitz raised his eyebrow in surprise.

"Did you just agree to marry me?"

She smirked.

"I don't know, maybe propose to me and find out."

Fitz's mouth fell open and then he smiled.

"Noted but I want a big wedding."

He felt like Olivia deserved a big wedding, all the heads of state from around the world would come and see how gorgeous his new bride was, as he was thinking he realized that a big wedding would be more for him than her.

"You already had a big wedding, how did that work out?"

Fitz chuckled.

"That's fair, I guess."

The wheels in his head started turning and Olivia could see it.

"Come here," he called her over.

She was across from him in the circular small pool. She scooted over to his side and sat in his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her shoulder.

"Are you sure this is what you want?"

"There's nothing to be unsure about, I love you, alot and I know it's gonna be a big change, getting married, moving in together, starting our family, but I think I'm ready."

She moved his hands down to her stomach and held them here.

"Think about it, in 6 months, you might have a son or daughter in there."

"Don't even say that, I'm getting excited already."

She didn't have to see his face to know he was smiling, she felt it like a ray of sunlight shining on her back.

"Would you want a boy or girl?" He asked.

"Boy," she said with a smile, "you?"

"Girl, definitely a girl."

"How many?" Olivia asked.

"I was thinking like 4 kids."

"What?"

"Yeah, we could even in vitro a set of twins in there."

"Let's just start with one and see where it goes," Olivia said through a chuckle.

He turned her around on his lap so she was straddling him. He held her chin and looked her in the eyes.

"I love you."

She smiled and kissed him.

"I love you too," she said as she hugged him tightly.

He could feel her nipples against his chest and instantly there was a blood rush to his cock. Olivia felt it instantly as well.

"Mm, somebody's excited," she teased.

"I'm sorry I really can't help it."

"That's okay," she stood up and smiled, "take them off."

He untied the strings of her bikini bottom and let it float up to the top of the tub and then Olivia straddled him once again.

He pulled down his trunks.

"I'll be gentle okay," Fitz said softly.

She nodded and pressed her forehead against his, she closed her eyes and held him tight as he entered her slowly.

She met him stroke for stroke as they slowly made love in the jacuzzi by the fireplace.

She breathed softly against his chest as he held her tightly. She felt Fitz kiss her hair and then her forehead. She sat up though she was still on straddling him. They were both still resting from their orgasms, she stood up, took the glass of scotch from behind him and handed it to him and then grabbed her glass of wine as well and sat in his lap with her back against his chest.

Fitz took a sip his scotch.

"Have you ever had sex with another woman?" He asked.

Olivia was so caught off guard that she choked on air but then regain her composure.

"No, I've made out with one before but she did not touch my lavender juice box."

Fitz raised his eyebrow and smiled.

"Okay. What's your favorite position?"

Olivia smiled and took a sip of her wine.

"There are just so many."

"Top three," he said with a smile.

"Okay, reverse cowgirl, I like riding you like that, especially when you spank me as I do it."

"One of my personal favorites too, good choice."

Olivia smiled.

"I like it when you lay me flat on my stomach and I arch my back a little and you take me from behind, I don't know what that's called but I love it."

"One more."

"When my back is against the wall and you throw my leg over your arm and you take me like that."

"Favorite time we'd ever had sex?"

"Only one?" She asked."

"Only one," he said with a nod.

"First time. Nothing beats the first time we made love. What was your favorite?"

"The first time we made love after you came back to D.C, remember you wore that little silk set."

"Yes, I do remember that silk set, you couldn't get it off me fast enough."

Fitz chuckled at the truth in her words.

"I had missed you so much, it wasn't just about sex in that moment, I just wanted to feel close to you, you know, how things were before you left."

She smiled and caressed his cheek gingerly.

"I know baby, I needed that too."

They gazed at each other for a moment then Olivia broke into a laugh.

"Look at us, did you think that almost a year after we met we'd be here, making plans on starting our family."

"No, I didn't but I couldn't be happier."

The next morning, they both woke at a reasonable hour, showered, ate breakfast and gathered in the bedroom to start packing for their evening flight.

After they packed, they both decided to get some work done. Olivia had been neglecting her emails and work phone since she arrived so she had a lot to catch up on and Fitz read up on his briefing and had a few phone meetings with Cyrus and various others in his administration.

By mid afternoon, they took a long walk around the compound and stopped by the lake before they went back to the cabin.

By 5:30, they headed to the airport and boarded AF1 at 6:30pm, by 7 they were in the sky heading back to D.C.

Fitz sat at his table in their bedroom, while Olivia laid in the bed flipping through channels. When Fitz saw that he remembered her documentary was airing soon.

"Liv, you know BNC is airing a documentary on you at 8 right?"

"Really?"

"Yeah, I wanted to see it."

"That should be interesting, I wonder how much of it will be true?"

Fitz smiled.

"We'll have to see."

"Well can we go grab something to eat before it comes on."

"Sure yeah."

Fitz got up and they both headed to the kitchen. By the time the cooks prepared their food and served them it was almost 8 so they headed back to the room to catch Olivia's documentary.

They laid in the bed with their food and turned the channel to BNC and waited for the documentary to air.

"Do you want some of my fries?" Olivia asked as she ate.

Fitz opened his mouth and Olivia stuffed the fries in and then gave him a smooch on the lips.

"You're so handsome," she said with a smile.

Fitz was about to respond when they BNC intro song played as they began airing the documentary.

"Who is Olivia Pope?" They began.

Olivia sighed and rolled her eyes.

Fitz chuckled.

A picture of a 3 year old Olivia flashed across the scene. She had her hair in a curly Afro that touched her shoulders, she wore hello kitty sunglasses and she scrunched her nose and folded her arms as if she was angry her picture was being taken.

Fitz held his stomach and laughed.

"You were so cute."

"How did they get that?" She asked.

"Dr. Olivia Carolyn Pope, born on September 27, 1979 in New York City. She is the daughter of Maya Pope, a lawyer, and Eli Pope, owner of a security firm."

"Groundbreaking," Olivia said sarcastically.

The flashed more pictures of Olivia across the screen, this time it was pictures from her various outings with Fitz, and then they started showing personal pictures from her various trips, no doubt taken from her social media profiles. Pictures of her in Japan, Myanmar, Syria and Machu Picchu.

"Beautiful, brilliant, free-spirited, generous, those are some of the words that close friends and associates have used describe dr. Olivia Pope. Before her relationship with president Fitzgerald Grant, she was known for being extremely intelligent savant, in fact, many say that she considered a genius of our time."

Fitz looked over at Olivia then look back at the screen, she seemed apathetic to what they'd been saying so far.

"Not much is known of her early childhood, according to sources, she was a test subject at a special Johns Hopkins program for gifted youngsters at 5, she flew under the radar until she appeared on the world stage at 9, leading team USA to an upset victory against Russia and Germany in the world physics Olympiad, she was the youngest competitor for team U.S.A. During her teenage years she often competed in math and science competitions, attended multiple schools and served as the chief consultant for the NASA space exploration program calculations at 11. She attended Harvard at 12 and MIT at 18 after becoming the youngest ever PHD scholar in history. She created a groundbreaking procedure based on stem cell regeneration with a 100% success rate and also famously healed president Grant's only son Fitzgerald 'Gerry' Grant IV from paralysis. These are all great accomplishments but who is she really, do we know? According to professor Benjamin Confessore, MIT math and physics scholar, she is not who you think she is."

Fitz looked to Olivia again but her expression didn't change.

The screen shifted to a white elderly man, a octogenarian most likely.

"Professor Confessore, when did you meet Olivia Pope?"

"I met Olivia in 1984, when she was 5 years old."

The man spoke with a British accent and his voice was very frail.

"I remember because I was quite excited to meet a savant, certainly one who didn't suffer from autism. I was skeptical, I didn't believe they could do the things they said she could. I remember I met her at the John Hopkins center in New York, I wrote a very complicated problem in the white board in a classroom when I heard she was coming. When I first saw her, I smiled because she was this tiny little girl, far tinier than what a normal 5 year old should be. I asked her to solve the problem on the board, I didn't believe she could. She stared at the board, she looked completely puzzled and I thought, well I was right, this child has no idea what is in front of her. I asked her if she understood the problem and she replied 'I do but apparently you don't, you broke three mathematical rules and the exponent should be negative' I asked why she didn't say anything and she replied 'my mom said I should not condescend people although I'm sure right now I'm not doing a very good job' and that's when I knew she was special."

"What was the nature of your relationship with Dr. Pope?"

"I was her teacher, her mentor, she learned at a rate faster than anything I'd thought possible, in 5 years, I taught her everything I'd learned in 50 years and then we learned new things together."

"What was Olivia like as a child?"

"I've never come across another human being that has been able to do what Olivia can do. She is a genius in every sense of the word even as a little girl she knew things she shouldn't."

The screen cut to videos of Olivia at 6 years old in a room with white walls. It had a whiteboard, there was a small play area for a child, there were many books scattered around the floor and there was a small piano.

She stood on the stool scrambling numbers and symbols of what appeared to be an equation across the board. She was writing with both hands and the professor stood beside her. He could see her mom and dad standing by the wall. The first thing he noticed about her mother was the she was extremely beautiful and Olivia looked exactly like her. Then the screen cut to her at the piano playing a melody then she was in the floor skimming through books. The screen cut to different scenes of a young Olivia doing different things, she seemed bored. There was a video of her with a puppy. She looked to be about 6 years old and she was hugging the puppy.

"This is my puppy, his name is Scooter, he's not the smartest little guy around but he's the cutest."

She had a slight lisp as a result of her front teeth being missing.

"She was a peculiar child, very quiet, she rarely spoke but whenever she did she never seized to amaze with her snarky, sarcastic comments. She had no social skills, not really, she had no friends her age, no family except for her mother who she was very close with until she passed away."

"Her mother died when she was 11 years old, were you around when her mother died?" the host asked.

"Yes, I was. She was devastated, she was there when her mother was murdered and she took it very hard, for months. She fell into a dark depression, she kept herself busy with work, we accomplished a lot of work during the months after her mother's passing, groundbreaking work because she completely dedicated herself to her studies after her mother's passing."

"Did she ever speak about it?"

"No, never, not to me."

"Is there a dark side to being like Olivia, being a savant?"

"Well yes certainly, there were those terrible migraines that she's always struggled with. With her class of savant syndrome, her ability to perfect recall her memories made her apathetic and easily bored of people, places, things because she found life repetitive but it also made her relive the most traumatic moments of her life and that took a toll, she was depressed to the point of a suicide attempt when she was 17 years old, she's always struggled with that, for most of the time I knew her."

"So you're saying that the suicide attempt from earlier this year after her rescue from captivity wasn't the only time she's attempted suicide?"

"Yes, I wasn't surprised she did, I couldn't imagine what must have been going through her mind when she returned, whenever she goes through a traumatic event that is her first resort."

"So there are more than two times?"

"I know of 2 times personally and the 3rd I learn when everyone else did through the media earlier this year."

The screen cut to a video of Olivia as a teenager in a lab with the professor and a few other people. She seemed to be running a test on a robot. She had metal cuffs around her wrists, arms, knees, ankles and head. She was standing in front of a skeletal robot like figure. She typed something into a keyboard and then went and stood in front of the robot.

"Prototype 1: test 2, remote signal interface - 3...2..1," Olivia announced into a recorder.

She moved her arms and the robot moved it arms too, then she moved her legs and the robot mimicked her movement. Everyone looked on in amazement and then applauded. Then the screen cut to another video of Olivia tinkering with some mechanic gloves with a small screwdriver and then she put both the gloves on her hands. She was standing at a table in the lab and she had a clear container of water in front of her. The professor and Eli and a few other people were standing to the side. She clicked the gloves on and held her hands over the water, she slowly swayed then back and forth over the water until the water rose as she controlled it's movement with her gloves.

"Yes," the professor shouted as he grabbed Olivia and the water feel to the floor, "you did it. Magnetize the liquid molecules, I didn't think it was possible but you proved me wrong."

The screen cut back to the professor and the interviewer.

"What do you want the world to know about Olivia Pope?"

"I truly believe that Olivia pope has one of the most brilliant minds the world has ever and will ever see, when I think of what she can do, what she can accomplish I feel hope but I also feel a great sadness because she is also the world's biggest disappointment. Instead of accepting her brilliance, she dumbs herself down enough to be socially acceptable, she wants to be normal. She is the opposite of normal, her brain, her memory, how she processes numbers and what her mind can do, how she sees, how she thinks, how she guesses, is not normal and pretending it is, is doing a disservice to the advancement of the world. She is a disgrace-"

Olivia grabbed the remote and turned off the tv. Her lips trembled as if she were about to cry.

Fitz was still stuck on the two suicide attempts he had no idea about and another the professor said stuck out to him 'she was easily bored of people, places and things' he wondered if she would get bored of him.

"Baby talk to me, tell me what's going on," he said softly.

Olivia wiped her eyes.

"I'll prove him wrong."

"If you need to prove him wrong then that means you currently think he's right, he's not."

Fitz kissed her forehead and pulled her into his arms.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Only if you want to," Fitz replied.

Olivia sat up.

"He's giving everyone the impression that every time something doesn't go my way I grab a rope and try to hang myself, that's not true."

Fitz flinched at the thought of her hanging herself, even if she was just saying it for the purpose of getting her point across.

He held her wrists, revealing the faded scars from her last 'incident'.

"Liv, this," he said as he ran his thumbs over her scar, "can't ever be an option again, not ever again, no matter how bad things are."

"I know."

"You have to promise me."

"I promise but Fitz, that was a long time ago, you can't hold that against me."

"It wasn't a long time ago Olivia, it was earlier this year."

She turned her face away from him, slightly embarrassed.

"I love you, there's nothing to be embarrassed about, now we just need to figure out how to get back at professor X for opening his mouth and saying things he shouldn't have said about you."

Olivia smiled.

"What should we do?"

"Don't get mad baby, get even, what do you know about him that he wouldn't want anyone to know?"

"Well, he published two books but he used my notes, he plagiarized and I can prove it."

"That's gold, we can leak that tomorrow and make his entire career a joke by Wednesday. He'll be a disgrace by Friday."

Olivia giggled.

"You don't think that's a little harsh?"

"It's a harsh world."

Olivia took a moment to think it over and then decided he was right.

"Okay, I'm in."


	52. Chapter 52

The next morning when Olivia woke up Fitz was gone from the bed but she could hear the shower running. She was in a good mood despite the mildly sour ending to their trip, it wasn't the first time people went on television and said unsavory things about her, the only difference is that she didn't expect it from the professor but it was done and so she just tried to shake it off.

She stretched and walked to the bathroom and quietly opened the door and let herself in. She undressed quickly and stepped in the shower behind Fitz.

"You showered without me, tight buns."

Fitz turned around and smiled.

"Are you ever gonna stop calling me that?"

"No, not ever."

He grabbed his ass and squeezed it.

"Don't ever go to jail, they would attack your ass."

Fitz laughed in agreement.

"Noted."

Olivia grabbed her body wash and sponge, lathered it and began bathing herself. Fitz was already done showering so he just watched her. It was almost a test, he wanted to see if he could watch her lather her entire body with soap without getting hard but he failed miserably because by the time she reached her breast, he was erect. Once Olivia saw that she decided to provoke him, her shower turned into a strip tease, only she was already naked. She massaged her breast and rubbed the soap down her torso then she turned around and smacked her ass for him see.

She was leaning up against the wall with her ass poked out when he got tired of her antics and grabbed her. He pressed his erection into her back.

"You're just begging to get fucked aren't you."

Olivia smiled.

"Maybe I am or maybe I want you to beg for it."

He kissed her neck and then down her shoulder then he brought her hand down to his erection and made her feel it.

"If that's not begging for it, I don't know what is."

"You're right but I'm fascinated by the idea of you walking around with blue balls all day thinking of all the different ways you wanted to fuck me but couldn't."

Fitz eyes opened wide.

"You wouldn't."

"It's already happening."

Olivia shimmed out of his grip and stepped under the shower head and washed herself off. She felt Fitz staring but she ignored him and hummed a tune nonchalantly as she finished showering. When they both stepped out, Fitz was still hard, it wasn't the first time Olivia played such cruel games on him so in a sense he was used to it but it didn't make it any easier. He thought about masturbating but his erection would usually come back less than half hour later and he'd have to keep doing it throughout the day and he didn't feel like it so he was going to leave it to die on it's own.

He was quiet as they got dressed and Olivia thought he might have been angry with her.

"Are you mad at me?"

Fitz chuckled.

"I don't get mad Livie, I get even, I'm gonna get you back, maybe not today or tomorrow but I gonna get you back."

His threat was thrilling and she was actually looking forward to him exacting revenge on her.

"Is it weird that I'm actually looking forward to it," she said with a shy smile.

Fitz chuckled and walked over to her and planted a kiss on her lips.

"You're adorable but seriously, it's gonna be bad."

"Still looking forward to it, in fact, I'm really horny right now."

Fitz jumped and started laughing.

"My oh my, how the tables have turned, ha!"

Olivia bit her lips and laughed.

"Please, my vagina is leaking like a rusty old pipe," Olivia laughed at herself, "worst reference ever but you get it."

"Congratulations, you played yourself," Fitz teased.

"Come on Fitz, really quick before you have to leave for work."

Fitz walked over to her and picked her up and brought her over to the small couch in his closet.

Olivia unbuckled his pants and pulled down boxers quickly, he was still semi hard. She lifted her dress and pulled down her underwear and kicked them off.

"Come on baby, I'm all yours," she said with a wicked smile.

"Beg."

"What?"

"If you want this dick, you better beg for it, especially after the shit you pull in the shower."

Olivia's mouth fell open and curved into a smile.

'No, I'm Olivia Pope, I don't beg."

Fitz smiled.

"Okay fine, then you can go to work with your wet pussy and I'll go to work with my hard dick and that'll just be that."

Fitz pulled up his pants and was about to step off when she grabbed his hand.

"Fine, you win."

Fitz smirked and turned around.

"No, no, no, I didn't ask if I won, I asked you to beg."

She sighed in defeat and relented.

'Please."

"What? I didn't hear you?"

"Please, pretty please with cherries on top come over here and have sex with me" she said almost sarcastically.

He let go of his pants and the fell to the floor once again. He kicked them off and then crawled on top of her.

"If I wasn't so hard I would have left you here to fend for yourself."

"But you can't, can you," she said with a smile.

He leaned down and kissed her waiting lips. She was eager, and wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his body closer to hers.

He rubbed his tip against her clit.

"Fuck," she moaned softly.

He kissed her again and slide his tip in slowly and then pulled it out. She was hot and soaking wet and it felt amazing but he lived for the moments when she begged for him so he teased her, never fully entering her but never fully leaving.

"Baby please, I want it so so bad," she had actually started begging.

Fitz sucked in her bottom lip and slide his tip in again and then pulled out.

"You want me to give it to you."

"Yes daddy I want you to give it to me."

His resolve crumbled into nothingness and he found himself fucking her hard against the back of the couch.

"Oh yes, right there baby, I'm gonna cum, I'm gonna cum," she screamed breathlessly.

Fitz was on the verge of his orgasm too but he needed to teach her a lesson so he waited and he watched and when he felt her insides swell around him from her impending orgasm he pulled out.

"No, Fitz don't."

He stepped back and grunted, "fuck," he cursed into the air as he tried to catch his breath and grabbed his boxer and pants from off the floor, "we'll pick up where we left off later."

Olivia sat up.

"Come on Fitz, don't be like that."

He headed to the closet door so he could get to the bathroom, he needed to jerk off and fast because he felt like his penis was going to explode.

"Get your ass back here!"

"No, fuck you, I bet you won't do that again," Fitz called over his shoulder.

Olivia couldn't believe him. It took her less than a minute of masturbating to come to an orgasm, Fitz brought her right to the edge and left her hanging so it wasn't hard for her to finish herself off.

Once she was done, she stood up and laughed, she had to admit that Fitz made his point and he did so quite hilariously.

She walked to the bathroom and knocked in the door.

"Baby open up, I'm not gonna kill you, I promise."

She heard him chuckle loudly from behind the door and a couple seconds later he opened the door. Immediately Olivia rushed in and attacked him, she jumped on him and they both tumbled to the floor. Fitz was laughing hysterically as she punched him in his rib.

"Don't you ever fucking pull that shit again if you want to live, do you understand me?"

She pinned him down and Fitz quickly overtook her and switched positions and pinned her on the floor underneath him. She struggled a little then she gave up and started giggling. Fitz stared amusingly.

"I love you," he said with a heartbreakingly charming smile.

"I love you too."

Olivia looked down at his flaccid penis.

"I take it you jerked off already?"

"It literally took me 3 seconds," he said with smile.

He got up and then helped her up then they both got cleaned up and finished getting dressed and headed down to the kitchen to grab breakfast. They sat at the table as they ate and Fitz read the new articles from his ipad.

"The sooner you can give me the notes, the better. I'll have James publish it and it should be in the news by tomorrow, later today even, if you send me the info in time for prime time."

"It's actually scanned in my dropbox, I can email it to you once I get to the lab."

"Are you excited to be going to the lab today?"

"Yep, yesterday was technically supposed to be my rest day here but we spent it in Aspen, luckily I feel even more rested than I probably would have if I spent it in D.C."

"Is it just gonna be you by yourself today?"

"Yep."

"Okay, I'm gonna stop by one of these days, I just need to get things in order here after being on almost a week vacation."

"I would really love it if you did" she said with a smile.

"I will, I promise."

They chatted for a few minutes before Fitz kissed her and headed off. She went back to his bedroom and grabbed the remote to turn on the tv to see what they were saying about her, she'd hoped they had more important thing to speak on but they didn't. The headline read: "Olivia Pope: disturbed or misunderstood."

She sighed and turned up the volume to see what the pundits were saying.

"What do you have to say about someone who is suicidal, I mean three times, really? Is that the kind of person we want as a future First Lady," one pundit said.

"First of all, we only can confirm one time and everyone has their issues, this is a personal problem and we have no business passing judgement. Really brilliant people are known to suffer from several personality or psychological disorders, depression might be hers or it might not, no one has spoken with her so we don't know."

She felt like given the circumstances it was a good time to call Savannah and vent so he dialed her and waited for her to pick up.

Around noon, after Fitz had finished several meetings, Lauren paged him

"Sir, your guest is in the lobby."

"Send him in Lauren."

"Yes sir."

Moments later Ezra walked in.

"Good morning Mr. President."

Fitz stood and met him between the sofas and shook his hand.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice Ezra, it's good to see you."

"No worries, Mr. President, when you called me yesterday and asked me to come down I was glad, I needed a change of scenery."

Fitz smiled and took a seat, gesturing for Ezra to do the same.

"What can I do for you today Mr. President?"

"I need diamond Ezra, a big, opulent, crystal clear diamond, the best you have."

"For a ring, necklace?"

"Ring, an engagement ring."

Ezra Skarsgard had been the family jeweller for years, Fitz trusted him to hold his confidence. He worked closely with Lorraine Schwartz and also designed for Cartier and Tiffany's he was one of the best in the business both in the U.S. and Europe.

"How big are we talking?"

"She has small fingers so maybe a 15 carat anything bigger would look like a ring pop but I want the diamond to be of exquisite quality, it definitely can't be a conflict diamond, she cares about stuff like that."

Ezra started taking notes.

"You want a clear D diamond, because I was thinking we could garnish the ring with some pink diamonds, instead of clear ones, make it personal, it won't look like any other ring."

"So a white diamond in the center and pink diamonds around…I don't know if she'd like that."

"Okay so just white diamonds then, what is her ring size?"

"5."

Ezra jotted it down.

"Ezra I can't stress how perfect I need this ring to be, whatever the cost and I actually changed my mind about the pink diamonds, add them but maybe around the band or something, I don't want it to look gauche."

"I already have the perfect diamond in mind, don't worry, it will be elegant, I'm not in the business of making tacky jewelry you know."

Fitz chuckled at the scolding Ezra gave him.

"I know, I just want a perfect ring for the perfect woman, you can understand why I want to be picky."

"I completely understand, I'll sketch some ideas and send them to Lauren but can you tell me what she's like, it helps to know the kind of woman I'm designing for, I can design something that fits her personality and style."

"Well she's very beautiful of course, not just outside but inside as well and you can feel it when you're near her, she smiles a lot and she's very selfless, very caring, sometimes she's shy, sometimes very expressive," Fitz paused and thought of anything else that would be helpful, "style wise she's very sexy but not by showing a lot of skin, she's not flashy, it's her confidence and her attitude that's sexy. I don't know if that helps."

Ezra smiled.

"It helps a lot."

"Great I'm glad but you're going to kill me."

"Why?"

"I need it in a week."

Ezra's mouth fell open.

"Fitz- I'm sorry I mean Mr. president."

"Ezra, I've known you since I was a kid, no need to be so formal and I know it's short notice but I was looking for a sign that this was what she wanted and I got it and we have a special date coming up so that's my chance."

"Okay, I'm gonna be working on it around the clock with Lorraine and our team."

Fitz smiled.

"Thank you, whenever you can, just send me the estimate."

"I can probably tell you right now it's gonna be around 7-8 million including our fee. I already have a diamond in mind, I viewed it a month or so ago and I think it would be perfect. It'll have to be all hands on deck but I think we'll get it done in time."

"Perfect."

Fitz stood up and Ezra did as well and they shook hands once more.

"Thank you Ezra, I can't wait to see it."

After her hour long conversation with Savannah, Olivia head to her Lab. After more than a month of work, it was complete and ready for use and she was excited to finally get to start working. Luckily, none of the reporters knew she would be showing up at her lab so there was no fuss when she arrived. She had an entire floor to herself, the 12th floor and when she stepped out of the elevator and into her lab, she silently congratulated herself on her work. It looked pristine, she had state of the art apparatus and equipment, some from her office in New york, others that she bought recently and others that came with the lab.

She immediately set up her laptop and sent Fitz her notes that professor the professor stole from her then and laid out the notes she'd been jotting down for the past few months so she could see them. She pulled the whiteboard in front of her work station, grabbed a whiteboard marker and wrote two words on the board: 'what's next?'.

She stepped back and stared at the board because she really needed to figure out what that meant. Even though it felt good to hear Fitz say that she wasn't all the things professor Confessore said she still needed to prove him wrong.

She needed to figure out what she was passionate about and what was possible and somewhere in between those two, she would find her next breakthrough.

Around 2pm, Fitz called her to let her know that James received the info and would be calling her to get some information for his story. A few minutes later James called and she detailed to him how the professor plagiarized her work.

James published the article and leaked the notes online around 6pm and it hit the news wave by the time Olivia got back to the residence from the lab. When she walked into the bedroom, Fitz was sitting on the couch working with the television on the news in front of him.

"Hey babe," she said as she took off her flats and walked over to him.

"Liv, it's about time."

She walked over and sat on his lab and kissed him.

"Look," he said as he pointed to the tv, " the publishers want to retract his book, they're reviewing your notes."

"Already?"

"Justice is swift baby."

He seemed rather cavalier about it. It was weird for her to see everything play out in real time.

"You're used to this aren't you?"

"I'm a politician, this is my life, it's much worse than this during the campaign."

"When are you gonna start campaigning, Sally and Reston are out there campaigning pretty hard."

"We're gearing up to start hosting fundraisers later this year and then we'll start campaigning December going into January and then it's non stop back until November. It's going to be a crazy year."

"Who do you think you'll face in the general, Sally or governor Reston."

"Reston, Sally hasn't really been picking up steam, she has the hard right base, that's it, I'm doing pretty well, my approval rating have been solid riding the 50's, so I'm not exactly vulnerable, at least not right now, things can always change though."

She looked over on the table, there was half eaten grilled chicken and baked potato on his plate. She took the knife and cut a piece of his chicken and ate it.

"Wait please tell me there's more of this," she said with her mouth full.

"Yeah, I told them to cover yours, it's in the kitchen."

Olivia got up and scurried to the kitchen without another word.

"I can just have them bring it up you know," he called out but she didn't hear because she was already gone.

Ten minutes later she appeared with a tray and placed it down on the coffee table in front of them. She grabbed her fork and sniffed the food before she cut a piece of her chicken off and ate it.

"This is so good, oh my god," she said in a half moaned.

Fitz watched her curiously as she ate.

"I think it's weird that you make the same sounds when you're eating that you make when we have sex."

"It's simple, I really enjoy eating and I really enjoy having sex, now if you feed me while we're having sex then I might have to tie you up and lock you in a dungeon 'cause I would not let you go, not even for a second."

"Hmm, I'm open to that."

She leaned over, Fitz thought she was going to kiss him but then she turned back and took a piece of her chicken ad ate it.

"Mhmm, mm, mm, who is the chef here Fitz, I'm gonna cheat on you with him."

"No."

"Yes," she ate another piece, "totally cheating on you with him."

"You can't ever cheat on me."

"Do you have his number, I might have to give him a call right now."

Fitz grabbed her and pulled her into his lap with his arms wrapped around her waist and butt.

"No one is taking you from me, I'll get cooking lessons and cook you dinner butt naked every night if I have too."

Olivia laughed.

"You know Liv, I could get used to this," he said with a smile.

She leaned up, "well don't because I'm going home tomorrow."

"What, no!"

"Yes, I've barely been to my apartment in the past two weeks, I have to run errands and get stuff done like my eyebrows and nails, I have to clean up my apartment, I've got things to do man, I don't live here you know."

"Come on, you've been spoiling me all week, don't stop now," he said as he pulled her close and peppered kisses on her lips.

"You can always sleep by my apartment you know, like how we did things before I came over here."

"Okay but we're going out for dinner tomorrow night."

She kissed him.

"I can't wait."


	53. Chapter 53

**One week later.**

Olivia was excited, Abby, Elliot and Kamaya had called and were in desperate need for girls night. Sahara's dad came back for two days and then left once again and Kamaya decided she was over it and needed to vent, the way she always did every time he left.

They told her they were going to drive down and spend the night at her apartment, Kamaya insisted that she needed to get away from Sahara as well because she was driving her crazy.

Olivia spent the day at the lab and in the evening she stopped by the market on her way home and bought extra bottles of wine, popcorn and chips and then she stopped at a takeout restaurant and got burgers then headed home. She showered and threw on something comfortable and by the time she was done, she heard her doorbell chime.

She quickly opened the door and was greeted by hugs and familiar smiles.

"Hi guys, I'm so glad you drove down to see me."

"Hey girl," said Elliot.

"Hi Liv," said Abby.

"Hey," said Kamaya.

She took her time hugging each of them and then gave them space take off their shoes.

"Okay so I need a shower asap," Kamaya said, " I feel so sticky and hot, I didn't get to bathe before I came down here."

"The towels and washcloths are in the closet right outside the bathroom."

"Okay," she responded as she headed in that direction.

Abby and Elliot took their bags and went to change into something more comfortable and then met Olivia back in the kitchen as she heated the burgers in the oven and opened the wine so it could breathe. Abby and Elliot dug around the kitchen looking for snacks to eat later on. By the time the burgers were ready, Kamaya joined them.

They all got comfortable on the couch with their food and wine and Kamaya was the first to begin.

"I have man problems!"

They all laughed.

"What did he do this time?" Olivia asked as she took a bite of her burger.

"He's just so... ughhh. He shows up, of course Sahara gets excited you know even though she barely knows him, he starts whispering all the sweet nothings and la-de-das in my ear and even though he never follows through, I believe him… again… because I'm an idiot and two days later, he tells me he can't do and he needs time to figure out what he wants."

"That piece of shit, first of all he dresses bad and I already told you I think you should just cut him off, all that stress isn't good for your pores" said Elliot.

"He's her father, it's not like I'm asking him for money you know, I've been doing it all by myself, if Olivia didn't cut me those checks every now and again I don't know how I would manage between rent, a nanny, bills and my student loans, insurance, it's fucking crazy and I can't take it anymore."

"I'm really sorry Kam, that's got to be really draining," Olivia said sympathetically.

"It is, I'm at the point where, I'm ready to start dating again and find someone who will be there for the long haul you know."

"I really think you should start dating," said Abby.

"I know but it's hard, I'm a doctor, I'm busy, my schedule is crazy and I'm a single parent."

"Yeah but there will never be a good time, you have to make time," Olivia retorted.

"I know but all these jokers out there just looking to waste time, it's just hard and we've been doing this on and off thing for almost three years but Sahara needs stability so this time I'm done," Kamaya sighed.

They were used to Kamaya being done every few months.

"What about you Elliot, do you have man problems?" asked Olivia.

He chuckled.

"Nope, I got two guys that I'm rotating, nothing serious but it's fun."

Olivia laughed and took a sip of her wine.

"Two on the side, I like that."

"What about you, what did you do after we left Aspen, you still haven't answered that," Elliot countered.

"Yeah, you've been real hush, hush about what happened after we left," Abby joined.

"There's nothing to tell" she said coyly.

"There's a lot to tell, start talking," Abby demanded jokingly.

Olivia took another sip of her wine. She wasn't sure if she wanted to give them details, she was used to talking to Kamaya and Elliot about past partners but not about Fitz, she confided in Abby the most but even Abby didn't know everything. She trusted them to hold her confidence and after pondering for a few seconds she decided to go for it because after all, they were her closest friends.

"We took tequila shots and then we you know… did it."

"You 'did it', what are we 12, details girl," Elliot was quick to point out.

She laughed shyly.

"I got him drunk then I took him to the bedroom and we had sex all night, it was amazing, I have no idea what he did to me but once he put the penis in I just kept coming and coming and coming."

Kamaya's eyes opened wide, Elliot started smiling, Abby did too.

"Seriously," Elliot said incredulously.

"I'm so serious."

"I wish my deadbeat could keep and erection, he usually finishes before me. The sex is good though, it's not great but it's good."

"Me and Stephen had sex that day we came to visit," Abby said.

"Woah, you - wait, was it in my apartment."

"Yes."

"In my bed?"

"It was in the guest bed, I washed the sheets though. We did everything even anal."

Olivia gasped.

"You guys did anal the first time you had sex," Olivia asked rhetorically.

"Never do anal on the first time Abby, isn't that like a rule," Kamaya said as she sipped her wine.

"I know but he wanted to do it and it was fun."

"I'm rotating two penises right now, one of them is a younging so I'm teaching him a few things," Elliot added.

Olivia laughed and shook her head.

"So what is he like, the president, I didn't expect him to seem so down to earth in person," Kamaya asked.

"He's exactly as you said, he's down to earth, he's kind, he's charming, he's perfect, I couldn't have asked for a better man if I made him myself."

"What was it like when you first met him?" Elliot asked.

"When I first met him, I took one look into his blue eyes and it was so clear that, he was the only one for me, we both knew it, right away. It was kind of surreal, I didn't think you could just take one look at a person and be completely infatuated with them but I was and he was. Once his eyes caught me, I just couldn't look away. It was weird because in the two weeks that he'd been in comatose, I made him out to be this horrible person because everyone around him was so terrible but then he woke up and he was this down to earth, really great guy."

"So you guys became a thing in the hospital?" Elliot asked.

"Yes and no," Olivia replied, "yes because I think from that moment, we both kind of knew that something was up and no because honestly we were just friends, granted, it was not for very long but we started out as friends."

"When did you guys stop being friends and it turned into something more?"

"Like two weeks later."

They all started laughing.

"No, I'm kidding, it was less time than that. I leased a temp apartment I D.C. to monitor him after he left the hospital, the following Monday, he came to my apartment and I showed him my boobs."

Elliot choked on his wine as they laughed.

"What, you have to explain that," Abby said.

They all seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the story so she continued.

"We were sitting on the couch, I wore a tank but it was a little chilly in the apartment so my nipples were hard, he told me we couldn't focus and so I changed and put on a snuggie, you know the red one I have and he was still talking about my breast so I asked if he wanted to see them, he said yes and I showed it to him, he loved them by the way."

"When did you guys first have sex?" Elliot asked.

"The day before I left for DWB with Abby, we got close a few times before that but we were both holding out under the pretense that he was married and we were going to wait until he got divorced but Mellie was fighting him on it and I was leaving for three months, we didn't want to wait any longer so we did."

"Was the first time good?" Elliot asked.

"It was amazing, you know I never thought sex could feel like that, I cried guys."

Elliot gasped and smiled. "The dick made you cry?"

"You did."

"I did, I was just overwhelmed I guess."

"So wait, aren't you worried he might cheat on you since he cheated on his wife?" Kamaya asked.

"No, the divorce was already in the works long before I came along, he'd never cheated on her before me but she'd been cheating on him for years so it was really complicated, not that I'm making excuses but they hated each other and they definitely weren't having sex, I don't think he really cared that she was cheating."

"Wow she cheated on him," Abby said utterly taken off guard by how casually Olivia said it.

"Yeah."

"And she had the nerve to go out there and make it seem like she was some victim."

"I'm just trying to figure out why you told Abby but not us," Elliott said snarkily.

"I didn't tell Abby until-"

"No, she lied to me for months, she told me about him when I kinda already found out, when we were in Somalia."

Olivia smiled shyly at the memory of Fitz singing on tv.

"Yep."

"The first time I actually met him was when I came back from Ethiopia and I was in the hospital and he was asking me about what happened to you. He looked like he hadn't slept in days and he looked really scared and that's when I realized that he really loved you. He was really nice, he flew me back to New York privately, gave me guards for a little while to handle the press cause everyone wanted an interview," Abby said as she recalled.

Olivia had never found out what actually happened with Abby once she came back to D.C.

"Those guards in the suits, you told me they were detectives from the FBI not secret service agents," Elliot howled.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't say anything."

Olivia felt like the conversation was starting to get dark and she didn't like it so she wanted to change the subject.

"Do you guys wanna watch old episodes of friends?"

"No, we wanna talk about your love life," Elliot responded.

"What else do you wanna know, I've told you everything."

"I don't know, what do you guys do for fun, how many times do y'all have sex, is he the best you ever had and does he buy you stuff, come on girl, start talking," Elliot said excitedly.

"How many times we have sex per week?"

"Yeah, like in a normal week?"

"Okay but what's a normal week?

They started laughing at Olivia because they knew she was deflecting.

"Alright, in the past week at least," said Abby.

"Twice."

"A week?" Elliot asked.

"A day," Olivia responded.

"Oh my god, you little sex addict, I love it," Elliot said as he jumped up excitedly, "and what do you guys do when your together?"

"We watch tv or talk, we go out on dates, sometimes I'll help him with work and stuff, you know like a normal couple."

"You guys aren't a normal couple, he's the president of the United States. You guys trend on twitter every other week, that's power couple status," said Elliot.

"You're being dramatic."

"I'm serious but let's get back to your relationship, does he buy you things, does he spoil you cause I remember when I watched him pick you up on TV for your first date, he had an Hermes bag, I'm just saying."

"He's buys me jewelry and stuff and he gave me a Amex unlimited credit card that he wants me to use for everything but I don't really use it."

"What kind of jewelry, can we see?" Elliot asked.

"He got me this really pretty black diamond necklace and a matching bracelet, let me get it, I'll show you."

Olivia got up and headed to her closet and brought back two velvet specialty Tiffany boxes. She laid then in the floor and then opened them so they could see the necklace and bracelet.

"Holy shit," Abby said as she clutched pearls that weren't actually at her neck.

Olivia watched as they stared at the necklace in awe.

"I'm trying to figure out what's inside your vagina that makes all these men wanna buy you things, freaking crazy ass Daniel bought you that other necklace and so much other stuff that you don't even wear, the Russian guy you operated on bought you a convertible and now the president of the united state bought you this, do you have tips, cause I need stuff too," Elliot joked.

Olivia rolled her eyes and chuckled and picked up her boxes and brought them back to her closet and then came back to the living room and laid in the floor.

"By the Way Liv, there's an Indie Fest concert coming up at the armory, The Strokes are gonna be there, Bombay bicycle club, Two Door Cinema Club, The Temper Trap, Foster the People, The Colorist, Grouplove, Haim, Kings of Leon and The Arctic Monkeys and some other bands but we don't really care about those ones, we're all going, the tickets go on sale soon so you know if you aren't too famous to come, we could all go."

Olivias eyes opened wide.

"Are you kidding me, why didn't you bitches tell me sooner, I am 1000% there."

"It will be just like old times," Abby said excitedly.

Olivia rolled her eyes and chuckled.

"Can we watch friends now."

"NO!" All three of them said together.

Olivia laughed and relented, answering their questions without revealing anything she thought Fitz might be uncomfortable with. After a few hours, Abby and Elliot all fell asleep on the couch and Kamaya and Olivia slept in the floor.

In the morning, Abby, Kamaya and Elliot left early and headed back to New York while Olivia got ready to head to the lab. She was excited because Fitz would be coming by and she really wanted him to see the lab.

She spent most of the morning, brainstorming as she'd been doing for the past past week and working on her last millennium problem, it was almost done.

By 1:30 in the afternoon, Fitz texted her that he was minutes away. Five minutes later, he buzzed on her lab door and she hurried over to let him in. He greeted her with a big smile and a soft kiss.

"Hey Livie."

"Hi baby, I'm so glad you could come, I know you're really busy so I appreciate it."

"Don't worry about it," Fitz lifted the paper bag of food in the air, "I brought lunch."

Olivia took it and sniffed it.

"That smells amazing, what is it? A panini?"

"Yeah, I had the chef make some."

"Perfect."

She took him over to her work station where she had a ton of books and paper scattered and gave him a stool to sit on she gathered all the paper in one heap and moved them to another table.

Fitz looked around at the lab, it immaculately designed, the whites were blindingly white and the light were bright.

"It looks great in here," he complimented.

"Thanks."

He saw the whiteboard in the other side of the work station and began reading the notes on it.

"What's next?" And then beside that she wrote, "cancer cell degeneration."

"Liv?"

"Yep," she answered as she pulled a stool for herself.

"What this," he said as he pointed to the board.

She looked up.

"Oh," she said slightly embarrassed, "um just, you weren't suppose to see that. It's just the ranting of a mad woman, ignore it."

She ran over to the board and pushed it into a corner and then ran back to the work station.

"Are you working on cancer?"

"I was working on a hypothesis, I don't want to bore you with details."

Fitz gave her a knowing look and she knew she was being dramatic.

"The problem with cancer is a single cell, it generates another cell and then the regeneration process continues until the entire body is affected, if you can find away to degenerate the cells and not just with medicine but programmed fighting cells to degenerate malicious cells in a much more vicious way than he body would be capable of on it's own, that's how you cure cancer."

"That's great."

"No, it's not good enough, it's not specific enough, I need to fine tune it, right now it's just a crazy thought in my head, I have to turn it into an actually scientific theory. I'm not arrogant enough to think I alone can cure cancer but I have to explore the idea and technically isn't not really about cancer it's really about cells so it links Aids and Hiv, all those sort of diseases."

"Don't you need staff and stuff?"

"I will in the future but not right now."

Fitz smiled.

"I'm not sure what to say, what do scientist say: good look?"

"Godspeed."

"Okay Godspeed."

Olivia giggled.

"I was kidding."

"Oops."

They sat and ate lunch together while they chatted about mundane things until it was time for Fitz to head back to the white house. She walked him over to the door and kissed him goodbye. As Fitz opened the door to let himself out she stopped and turned to her.

"Our anniversary is tomorrow, I'm going to pick you up at 8."

"Didn't we celebrate our anniversary enough on our vacation," she said with a smirk.

"We did but tomorrow marks the actual day and we ought to celebrate that too."

Olivia smiled.

"What should I wear?"

"Something fancy."

"Okay, now I'm excited."

"Good, I'm glad."

He leaned down and kissed her again.

"I'll see you later."

Fitz left and headed to the white house to meet Ezra, who was personally going to deliver the finished ring and he was nervous and also excited to see.

He took a lot of time to think about how he wanted to propose, even before he asked Ezra to start making the ring. He thought about doing a nice dinner and then propose but that felt 'normal', he needed something more special but he was also a little uncertain because she seemed to not really be making a big deal about the prospect of an engagement or marriage but she was Olivia and she deserved no less than the best so he ultimately he felt confident about what he had planned for her.

A half hour later as he sat in his office, Lauren let Ezra in.

"Good afternoon Mr. President."

Fitz stood up and greeted him.

"Hi Ezra, thanks for coming."

He was carrying a large case and he had his own security escort him down to D.C. Fitz had seen sketches up until that point but never the actual ring. They sat on the couch and Ezra entered the code into the armored briefcase and waited for the code to be accepted then he opened the case and took the ring on the display and handed it to Fitz.

Fitz held it up and inspected it, he looked for the way the light reflected off of the many facets, how it floated and the clarity of the diamonds. He was pleased. The main 15 karat cushion cut diamond was surrounded by smaller rosy light pink diamonds and the rose gold ring band was studded with small crystal clear light pink diamonds, it was flawless and absolutely beautiful. The white diamonds juxtaposed the pink diamonds and rose gold in a way that was absolutely regal and the way light reflected off the pretty colors was like no other ring he'd seen and he was no novice at inspecting jewelry.

"Wow, this is it."

"You like it?"

"Well… The sketch didn't do it justice. This is perfect for her."

Ezra smiled.

"I'm glad you're pleased."

"I love it but let's get a woman's opinion."

"Lauren!" Fitz called.

Seconds later she hurried into the office.

"Sir."

"Lauren, come here please and let me see your hands."

Lauren walked over to Fitz and Ezra and held up her hands.

"You and Olivia have about the same size fingers, can you try this please."

Fitz handed Lauren the ring and she gasped at the beauty of it. Fitz smiled and looked to Ezra.

"That was the reaction I was hoping for."

Lauren tried the ring on her ring finger and held up her hand to display the ring.

"Yep, this is Olivia's ring right here. Ezra this is beautiful, you and Lorraine did good work."

"Thank you Mr. President."

"Lauren, can I have it back," Fitz asked.

Lauren quickly too the ring off and handed it back to Fitz and en excused herself.

"Sorry, she's skittish."

Fitz shook his hand.

"This ring is flawless, thank you, it was short notice but you and the team really pulled through."

"You're welcome, Mr. President."

Fitz showed him out and closed his door then brought the ring and box over to his desk. He sat and held the ring up, he saw tiny, dainty, italic letters inscribed in the band that read: "strong, brave, beautiful, OP."

He had called Ezra a few days after their initial meeting and asked that he inscribe those words around the band just as a special touch for Olivia.

It took him a little while to break his focus from the ring and calm down enough and get back to work.

Excitement wasn't the word for what he was feeling at the prospect of asking Olivia to be his wife.


	54. Chapter 54

Olivia opened the door for Tucker and Carson. They immediately swarmed her with hugs.

"It feels like forever since we've last been here," said Tucker.

"I know, I was on vacation and then I just started working in my lab and we went out a couple nights this week but it's wasn't all fancy, we just snuck into the restaurants after it was closed so I didn't need to get all dolled up."

"Well we're glad you called us now."

She smiled and opened the door wider to let them in and then took them to her closet and waited for them to finish setting up.

"So what are you doing tonight honey, where are we going, talk to me," Tucker asked as he sat her in the chair.

She wasn't going to let them know it was their anniversary, she didn't trust them enough to reveal that so she played it safe.

"He didn't tell me where we're going, he said it's fancy though, I'm wearing a balmain resort white cape dress with long sleeves and a plunging v- neckline and I'm wearing a really nice necklace as well so I wanna show that off."

She got up and took the dress out of the garment bag.

The dress had an impactful silhouette, with flouncy cape sleeves, it had a black tie around the waist and while the dress was made to show cleavage, Olivia had it altered to make sure it didn't show anything too revealing. It stopped mid thigh and was fitted but not tight, it was sexy and elegant. She planned on wearing it with the black and white diamond encrusted necklace Fitz gave her and her diamond earrings. She wanted him to see her wear the necklace, after all the money she was sure he paid for it, she didn't want him to think she just put it to the side especially after what Elliot said about her not wearing her lavish gifts. Fitz was different though, he wasn't just another wealthy man throwing his money at her, his gifts were thoughtful and much more a show of appreciation and love, than a show of wealth.

"Love it," Carson said.

"Me too," Tucker added.

Olivia smiled and went back to sit in her chair.

"What shoes?"

"Just the regular black ankle strap Stuart Weitzman's."

"Okay, I know just the hair I'm giving you," said Carson.

Olivia sat patiently as he gave her pretty beach waves. She opted for no extensions and had Carson curl her own hair that reached several inches past her shoulders. While Carson did her hair, Tucker worked his magic on her face. They were done in no time and as usual, they packed their belongings as she got dressed while also helping her to get dressed.

Tucker and Carson left about 20 minutes before Fitz knocked on her door.

"Fitz, you have a key," she yelled as she grabbed her purse and phone.

He opened the door and immediately met her in the foyer.

"Oh shit."

Fitz's mouth fell open, "I mean- I… You look - wow."

Olivia blushed from flattery.

"Thanks, you look great as well."

Fitz wore a black Armani tuxedo and velvet Ferragamo loafers.

"Forget about me, you're wearing the hell out of that dress."

She giggled.

"Are you ready babe?"

"Yeah," he said with a smile as he noticed that she was wearing the necklace he got her, "there's a whole bunch of press outside, just so you know," he added.

"Yeah, I figured, that's fine though."

He took her hand and led her downstairs proudly, he was so in love with her he had no idea what to do with himself.

As they stepped out of the building and headed outside to the limo, the reporters screamed questions.

" **Olivia, you look great, who are you wearing," that question was obviously from Tmz.**

" **Olivia, Dr. Confessore's publishing house withdrew his books from shelves, do you have any comment about his apparent plagiarism of your notes? He claims the white house helped sabotage his career, any comment Mr. President?"**

" **Mr. President, have you spoken to Mellie Grant since her allegations of infidelity."**

" **Olivia -"**

They shut the car doors and as the limo pulled off the shouting faded out. As soon as they were a comfortable distance away Olivia relaxed and threw her leg over his and settled under his arm.

"So where are you taking me?"

"Somewhere far away."

"You aren't gonna tell me are you?"

"Do I ever."

Soon after, they were at joint base Andrews where they boarded AF1. Instead of going to the presidential cabin, he took her to the game room. There was a pool table, a poker table and a whack a mole table.

"I didn't know you guys had a game room on board."

"It's a really big plane."

Olivia looked over at a table in the corner of the room that had little sliders, kebabs and other fun snacks.

Olivia smiled and walked over to the table.

"You think of everything don't you?"

"I try," Fitz said with a smile.

She took one of the sliders and bit it.

"Oh my god, Fitz you have to taste this," she said as she chewed and swallowed her bite.

She held up the half of her slider that was left and fed it to him. He bit it and smiled.

"Holy shit, that is really good."

Olivia chuckled and took another slider off the table, so did Fitz.

Olivia was on her 4th slider when Fitz start laughing at her, he was on his 4th too but he was way bigger than her and it made him wonder where hers were going.

"Liv, where are those going?"

She chuckled.

"Hopefully, to my butt."

Fitz walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her and kissed her softly on the lips.

"Do you know how to play pool?"

"No, but I'm eager to learn," she said a seductively.

He walked her over to the edge of the pool table. He ran his hands up and her torso and kissed her shoulder.

"Relax," he whispered.

He kneeled down and undid the straps of her heels and slid them off her feet. He took one of the cue sticks and began his lesson, instructing her how to hold the stick, how to stand and how to shoot. Unsurprisingly, Olivia got the hang of it right away and they played a few rounds. After pool, they went on to poker. Olivia sat in his lap as they played which was the worst possible place to sit, he thought it was hilarious because all she did was cheat the entire game by peeking into hand. As they were about the play a second round, he saw Olivia grab her temple and wince.

"Baby is it a migraine?"

She nodded, her eyes were tightly shut and she held her temple as she whimpered in pain.

Fitz quickly got up and helped her over to the couch.

Olivia felt nauseous and she could feel her sliders coming back up.

"Fitz, I'm gonna throw up," she said as she covered her mouth.

He quickly grabbed the waste bin that was by the food table and brought it over to her. She immediately regurgitated the contents of her stomach into the bin. Fitz sat beside her and held her as she threw up and when she was finished he placed the bin on the floor and rested her head in his lap. He expected her to fall asleep right away like she usually did but she didn't, she just laid quietly in his lap.

He didn't speak because he knew how sensitive her ears were whenever she had her migraines. He thought maybe he should take her to the bedroom but she seemed comfortable.

About a hour and a half later, the crew announced they were landing. Upon hearing the announcement, Olivia sat up.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay, those sliders tasted way better going down than they did coming up but I'll live."

"Are you sure?"

"Yep, I just need wash out my mouth and check my face."

"But you're sure you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Fitz still wasn't convinced.

"On a scale of 1 to 10, how okay are you?"

"Fitz," she said with a chuckle,

He kissed her hand.

"Okay," he replied softly.

He grabbed her heels and walked her to the bathroom located in the bedroom. She rinsed her mouth with mouthwash and fixed her makeup. When she was done, she opened the door and found Fitz standing right outside waiting for her.

"How do I look?"

"Perfect," he said knelt in front of her and helped her strap her heels back on. As he was on his knee in front of her, he kissed her thigh just below the hem of her dress.

Olivia giggled.

"You know, you can't kiss my thigh like that and expect me to keep my panties on."

He stood up and smiled then he led her to the front of the plane and the waited to disembark the plane. Once they stepped off the plane and onto the tarmac, Olivia began looking around to find clues.

"Fitz where are we?"

"Canada."

She stopped and faced him.

"What baby?"

He smiled.

"Yes we're in Canada."

Fitz took her hand and walked her quickly to the car and then they took off. They drove for another hour before the car came to a stop. Olivia tried getting clues from Fitz but he was mum, she also tried looking through the window to see where they were going but they were tinted so dark that she couldn't.

Fitz opened the door and took Olivia's hand in his.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

"I'm ready, I'm so excited to see what you have planned for us," she said excitedly.

Fitz took a deep breath before exited the car and helped her out as well.

Once she fully able to view the scene in front of her she was speechless.

They were by a huge lake, it was surrounded by pines trees and hills on the landscape. In the sky, were the northern lights; green, blue and violet lights dancing across the sky and reflecting beautifully across the still lake water.

On the shore of the lake, there were little white candles lined around the opening of forest. There were firefly string lights wrapped around the bark of the trees and up onto the branches. There were red rose petals in the form of a circle, carpeting the floor on the shore and a small blanket with cushions spread in the roses, with a bottle of champagne and a strawberries spread out for them.

Visually, it was absolutely stunning. She was sure he must have had some decorator design the set up because it was just that stunning. She heard music, soft romantic old school music coming from the forest, she thought maybe there were speakers in the trees.

"Do you like it?" Fitz questioned, snapped her out of awe inspired silence.

"Babe, I have no words, this is… perfect."

Fitz smiled.

"I'm glad you like you," Fitz said nervously.

He hadn't been nervous the entire flight but now that she was finally there, anxiety began to set in.

"Come on, we have a perfect view of the Aurora borealis, let's enjoy it."

He took her hands and slowly walked down the sea of roses and stopped just in front of the blanket. Olivia was about to sit on the blanket when Fitz stopped her.

"Liv, can you keep standing for one sec."

"Sure," she said absently as she looked across the lake at the northern lights, it was so beautiful that she had a hard time tearing her eyes away from it.

Fitz pulled the small box out of his jacket pocket and got down on one knee. He stayed silent as he waited for her to turn her attention from the lights and back to him.

Sailing by Christopher across played smoothly in the background, setting the tone just right, nostalgic and romantic.

When Olivia finally turned her attention back to Fitz and saw him on one knee in front of her she gasped and covered her mouth.

Fitz opened the small velvet box revealing her glistening diamond ring that somehow managed to sparkle in the night even though the moon was not in sight from where they were standing.

"Olivia Pope, will you marry me?"

She was frozen for a moment but then she regained her senses.

"Yes," she said with tear filled eyes.

Fitz smiled and took her hand and slipped the ring on her finger, it fit perfectly. Olivia couldn't take her eyes off the ring, she thought it was the absolute most beautiful piece of jewelry she'd ever seen and she couldn't believe it was hers, it was also a very large diamond.

Fitz signaled one of the guards and they spoke in the earpiece and seconds later, a barrage of fireworks were launched into the sky from the opposite sides of the lake. They were bright and beautiful.

The splendor from the fireworks and the northern lights in the sky, coupled with the beautiful decor around her and the ring on her finger left her in awe. Fitz could see that and caressed her cheek to bring her back from the reverie she had been lost in. She looked up at him a smiled as she stroked his cheek as well.

Fitz leaned down slowly and kissed her on the lips.

"You're gonna marry me," he said with a smile.

"Yes I am," she said as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

He kissed her again, deeper and slower this time. He tilted her head back and kissed her chin and neck and then went back to her lips.

" _And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love, you make."_

John Lennon and Paul Mccartney's 'golden slumbers/the end' played in the background.

"I love you," Fitz whispered.

"I love you too."

"Let celebrate," he said as he helped her into the blanket, he took her heels off and then he slipped his loafers off as well. Once she was sitting comfortably, he popped the champagne bottle open and poured two glasses. Olivia was fascinated by her ring and just sat staring at it.

"Liv," he called.

She snapped her head and gave him her attention.

"Here you go baby," he said as he handed her the glass of champagne.

"Thank you."

Fitz took a seat beside her and sipped his champagne.

Olivia was still staring at the ring.

"Fitz it's so big."

"It's not the first time you've told me that," he teased.

She slapped him playfully and chuckled.

"It's so beautiful."

Fitz let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm glad you like it, I was a little nervous you'd think pink and white diamonds were too much-"

"Wait they're pink?"

Olivia took her phone and turned on the flashlight and directed the light towards her ring.

"Oh my god."

The diamonds shimmered under the light and she could see with clarity the light pink and clear white diamonds.

"Wow, this is gorgeous, I love it baby."

Fitz smiled winningly and took another sip of his champagne then laid the glass down, Olivia did too and then they leaned back on cushions. Olivia snuggled on his side with her head rested on his chest as the both enjoyed the light show in the sky.

"Did you know, you seemed surprised?"

Olivia smiled.

"I was, I didn't think you'd do it is soon after we came back from Aspen."

"Good."

"By the way, where the hell are we?"

"Nova Scotia."

"Do you own is lake?"

"No, it's public property."

Olivia chuckled.

"So how did you plan this, you have to tell me everything."

"Okay, well, the day after our conversation in Aspen, I called Ezra Skarsgard and told him I needed to meet with him once I got back to D.C. I told him I needed a ring, preferably a 15 carat or so, he suggested the pink diamond and at first I didn't think you'd like that but then I changed my mind, Ezra is the specialist and you has great taste so I figured he knew what he was talking about. I had been thinking of locations for a while, I knew how beautiful the lights were up here at this time of year and you also told me you'd like to see the northern lights. I spoke with a meteorologist and luckily tonight was the night that they expected a big light show and so I had an event decorator come up and set all this up and yeah, that's it. There was a guy behind us taking pictures of me proposing, he should be gone now. By the way, those are non conflict diamonds, I made sure of it."

Olivia smiled.

"You did good, you really blew me away, this is perfect."

Olivia gently pulled his chin down to her and kissed him gingerly. As she kissed him, she heard the intro to one her favorite song and pulled away and sat up.

"We have to dance to this."

She stood up and took his hand and he stood up as well. Fitz took her in her arms and they moved slowly.

" _While I'm far away from you, my baby,_

 _I know it's hard for you, my baby,_

 _Because it's hard for me, my baby,_

 _And the darkest hour is just before dawn," Olivia sang softly in tune with the song._

" _Each night before you go to bed, my baby,_

 _Whisper a little prayer for me, my baby,_

 _And tell all the stars above,_

 _This is dedicated to the one I love."_

Fitz spun her around and dipped her and she responded with a resounding giggle that echoed into the surrounding forest. He spun her again, this time right into his chest and then he wrapped his arms around her. The both stood, swaying slowly to the music as they looked up at the light show.

"I love you so much," Fitz whispered after a while.

Olivia smiled and turned to face him.

"Enough to make love to me right here, right now."

Fitz looked around at all the agents.

"The guards."

"I don't care, tell them to look away and cover their ears while you make love to your fiancée."

"Mmm… I like it when you say fiancée, say it again."

"Fiancée," she said cheekily.

Fitz kissed her.

"Say it again," he said as he laughed.

"Fiancée."

They both laughed as Fitz walked her back to the blanket and laid her head on the cushion.

"Tom," Fitz called.

Tom quickly walked over.

"Yes sir."

"No eyes on us."

Tom nodded and walked away quickly.

"What does that mean, is that like code or something?"

"Yes," Fitz said as he kissed her, "it means we want privacy."

Olivia pulled her dress up so Fitz could pull her panties off and then she helped him undo his tuxedo pant. He took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeve and then hovered over her and kissed her.

" _Don't, don't, that's what you say,  
Each time that I hold you this way,  
When I feel like this and I want to kiss you,  
Baby, don't say don't."_

The sultry Zoë kravitz rendition played of the Elvis Presley classic played in the background.

Olivia spread her legs wide apart for him and slowly guided him inside her. She moaned delightfully at the sensation. She pulled his face down and kissed him. He slid his tongue in and out of her mouth, slowly, erotically. She loved it when it when he kissed her like that, it sent shivers down her spine. She brought her hands up to his face and held his cheeks as they kissed. Fitz began grinding slowly and Olivia moved her hands from his waist to lower back shoved him deeper. Fitz moaned in her mouth as he kissed and it only made her want him more.

She switch positions so she was on top and pulled down the sleeve of her dress, exposing her breast so Fitz could grope them as she rode him slowly to the brink of an orgasm. When Fitz felt his impending orgasm he flipped her and laid her flat on the ground with her legs spread open. He kneeled in front of her and took her right there until they both came.

An hour later, when the lights began to disappear from the sky, Fitz got up from their comfortable cuddling position. They'd been making out for the past 15 minutes and as reluctant as he was to leave, they needed to go.

"I think the show is over," he said.

Olivia stood up and looked around for her underwear but Fitz spotted it first. He picked it up and held it out for her, she stepped into them and Fitz pulled them up her legs slowly and then gave her a kiss on the thigh as he stood up.

Olivia smoothed out her hair and fixed her dress and then she helped button up Fitz's shirt and fix his bow tie. Fitz helped her with her heels and then slipped on his shoes afterwards.

Once they acknowledged that they were both appropriate, they headed to the car to leave for the airport.


	55. Chapter 55

They landed at the white house a little after 9 in the morning. They slept most of the way on the plane and while they didn't feel completely rested, they were both so excited from everything that happened during the night that lack of sleep hadn't really affected them.

Once they got to the residence they showered and brushed the teeth together and then headed to the closet to finish getting ready.

"Are you gonna be able to manage a full day of work, sugar balls?" she asked him as she pulled on her pants.

"Coffee, coffee, coffee," he said with a chuckle.

She walked over and held him by the waist and kissed him.

"Me too."

"I told you Gerry's coming home tomorrow because he has school on Monday right?"

"Yeah, you told me but um, he knows right, about the engagement?"

"Yeah of course he knows, Liv, it's Gerry, he's like buddha on quaaludes, he was really cool about it, you know, he's happy for us."

Olivia smiled.

"Buddha on quaaludes, that's pretty funny," she said, laughing.

"Yeah, I really wouldn't be surprised if he was smoking pot, he's too calm."

Olivia laughed and shook her head, she buttoned her silk white top and then walked over to the mirror to fix her face. She didn't have all her make up, all she had was concealer, mascara and lipgloss; just essentials. As she applied the concealer under her eyes, she felt Fitz staring. She finished applying it and added some mascara and lipgloss then she turned to face him.

"What's the game plan, the minute anyone sees me and they see this beautiful ring you've gotten me they'll know we're engaged, that's okay right, we're not hiding it or putting off letting the media know. It's okay if they know?"

"Yeah, absolutely, they'll see the ring and they'll know, I want everyone to know that I'm going to marry the most beautiful, not to mention most intelligent woman in the world."

She blushed.

"Thank you so much, that was really sweet."

"I'm just being honest," Fitz said with a smile.

He kissed her softly on the lips.

"Although I think just for the fun of it, we shouldn't confirm anything, let them speculate, it'll be fun."

Olivia giggled.

"I'm totally in."

"And you know we need to talk about a wedding soon right, we're not gonna be engaged forever."

"I know, I know, but I have enough excitement to last for a lifetime, so I need to let this die down a little before we even start talking about a wedding."

"Okay," he said with a smile, "are you sleeping over here tonight?"

"Yes, I am."

"Perfect, I'm glad. Your makeup looks great by the way."

"Fitz, this is barely makeup, I just have great pores."

"Well, I don't know, you've got the eye paint brush thing and the little stick thing and lip gloss thing."

Olivia laughed so hard she felt a sticking in her rib.

"Okay no, it's not an eye paint brush, it's mascara and it's for eyelashes and the 'little stick thing' is concealer and at least you got lip gloss right."

"One out of three isn't bad."

She chuckled, "I guess not."

She slipped on a pair of black Givenchy oxfords, she didn't feel like wearing heels.

"Breakfast should be ready right?"

"Yeah, it's usually ready by 7."

"Okay, perfect because I'm really hungry."

He brought her down to the kitchen and where they had breakfast and once they were done, he kissed her goodbye and headed to the oval.

Once Fitz felt, Olivia headed back to the bedroom. She was so excited that she didn't know what to do with herself so the first thing she did was grab her laptop and start a four way skype with Abby, Elliot and Kamaya and she hoped that all three of them would be available. Kamaya was the first to pick up, then seconds later Abby and Elliot joined the call.

Olivia cheesed so hard that her cheeks hurt.

"What's going on smiley, you gonna say something or you just gonna keep us here," Elliot said.

"You guys will never guess what Fitz did last night for our anniversary."

"Let me guess, he proposed," Abby said jokingly.

"Actually yes, he did."

"Shut the hell up, why didn't you start with that," Abby screamed.

"He did," Kamaya said.

"Girl, ring, ring, ring ,where's the ring," Elliot hollered.

Olivia started laughing.

"Don't freak out okay, just stay calm."

Olivia slowly held up her finger revealing the ring.

All three of them started howling.

"Holy shit, he gave you that," Abby screamed.

"Hold it closer, let me see," Elliot said.

Olivia held her finger closer to the screen.

"Oh my god, that is gorgeous," Kamaya complimented.

"Thank you."

"Liv, that ring is huge, how many carats is that?" asked Abby.

"It's 15.5 carats, it's white diamond, the other diamonds around it are pink and I don't know if you can tell but the band is rose gold."

"Take off the ring and hold it up to the screen."

Olivia took off the ring and held it up closer to the screen so they could all see. As she twirled the ring showing them the many facets she noticed an inscription inside the band and leaned in closer to read that it said.

"Strong, brave, beautiful, OP," she read aloud and smiled.

"What did you say?" asked Abby.

"He inscribed the words 'strong, brave, beautiful, OP' on the inside of the band, I didn't see that last night."

"Awww, that's so sweet," Elliot said.

"So tell me, how did he do it?" Kamaya asked.

"Yes, girl I want the entire story, was it romantic?" Abby asked.

Olivia smiled and put her ring back on her finger.

"It was so romantic, he always finds a way to blow me away. He came and picked me up last night at 8, he didn't tell me where we were going but we flew for just over three hours and even then I couldn't really tell where we were because Air Force 1 is faster than a normal 747, anyways, when we landed he told me we were in Nova Scotia, Canada and then we drove about an hour till we reached a lake, is was surrounded by a forest and had the most romantic decor set up, there were candles and thousands of rose petals and there was a little blanket on the sea of rose petals so we could lay down, there was music and northern lights were in the sky, they were blue, green, violet, it was the most beautiful scenery ever. Anyways once we got out of the car, we walked me over to the blanket and I was about to sit and he asked me not to sit as yet, I was so freaking caught up in looking at the northern lights that I didn't even see when he got on one knee in front of me but when I turned around there he was and then he asked me to marry him and I said yes and then there were fireworks and champagne, it was amazing."

"Wow, I'm so happy for you," Abby said with a smile.

"Me too, I'm really happy for you guys," Kamaya said.

"Thank you guys."

"So when the wedding?" Asked Elliot.

"Fitz wants a big wedding, I was thinking we could just elope, I told him some of my post proposal excitement needs to die down before we start talking about a wedding."

"I'm just throwing this out there but you guys should have a destination wedding and since he's rich he can rent a whole plane and hotel for us so I don't have to pay for anything, it will be like a free vacation," said Elliot.

Olivia laughed.

"Well throw it back because that's not happening."

"I had to try, also if he wants to be a polygamist and marry me too, we could threeway, I'm totally cool with that," he said jokingly.

"No."

"I figured not but I had to try," he teased.

"Okay well, I have to get to the lab but I just really wanted to share the news because I was so excited."

"I know me too, I claim maid of honor," Abby said excitedly.

Olivia smiled.

"I'll call you guys later or not probably not. By the way, this stays between us okay, you guys can't say anything at all."

"We know chica," said Elliot.

"Okay, perfect, bye guys."

"By the way, the tickets for the concert go on sale Friday at 8am, so make sure you go to ticketmaster because we're all trying to reserve tickets just to make sure they aren't sold out."

"Okay, I'm gonna have to tell my agents and they'll figure out how security will work I guess, whatever, I'll work it out on my end, talk to you guys later, bye."

They laughed and hung up one by one.

Afterwards, Olivia called Savannah to share the good news, she didn't really feel like having a full blown session because she honestly didn't feel she needed it.

"Hello Olivia, you're a little late for our usual 9am appointment."

"I know, sorry but I didn't really call for our appointment, I called to share good news."

"Oh really, I'm in the mood for some good news."

"Fitz proposed to me last night and I said yes, we're engaged."

"Wow, congratulations, I'm very happy for you, both of you, this is great news."

"Thanks, I'm really excited and happy as well."

"How are you feeling, you know, I'm really proud of all the progress you've made, I feel like you're in a good place."

"I am, I do feel like I'm in a good place, at least for the past few months, I've scarcely had night terrors or other ptsd symptoms, I think I'm finally putting his whole mess behind me, I'm not gonna lie though, I'm still afraid of strangers, being left alone with men in particular but that hasn't really happened except with my agents, I'm used to them and the rain still affects me but luckily there hasn't been much rain and other little things that arise but it's not overwhelming which is good."

"Yeah, time played a big part, you needed time to put it behind you and I also think having a supportive partner there has helped, don't you think?"

"Absolutely, I don't know what I'd do without Fitz which I'm still getting used to because I'm not one to really depend on anyone to- I don't know, I guess what I'm saying is that I don't usually depend on anyone for support as much as depend on him, of course, I have friends that I'm really close with but he's not a friend, he's my lover, he's my protector, he's my fiancé."

"I like that, very insightful, you're getting better at this," Savannah teased lightly.

Olivia chuckled.

"I know but I don't want to go to deep today because I do have to get to the lab, I really only called to share the news."

"Well congratulations again, I'm very happy for you and we'll continue our talk tomorrow."

"Okay great, I'll talk to you tomorrow, bye Savannah."

"Bye Olivia."

After the call, Olivia took her purse and headed down the her agents so they could take her to the lab. As she was beginning to dive into the genesis of her research experiment, she knew she needed to find some great interns and scientist for her lab and she also needed a new assistant. She needed the assistant sooner than later, since Harrison was no longer working with her so she planned on making moves to find a qualified assistant with a scientific background. She also had a lot of scientific materials to purchase such as human cells, she was hoping to get some strings of the Henrietta Lacks immortal cell line which she viewed as a priority after list of materials. She also needed a special computer that processed the DNA and cellular information that she would gather in the future.

Once she got past the reporters who she was sure caught pictures of the ring on her finger she headed straight to her lab, she dropped her belongings and got to work, trying to get through as much as possible.

Later in the evening, when Fitz got back to the residence from the oval, Olivia was already there and waiting for him. She was on the sofa, typing on her laptop.

"Evening Livie," he said as he pulled off his suit jacket.

He walked over and kissed her, she seemed unusually excited and he thought maybe it was still the proposal.

"What's got you so jumpy?" he asked.

"Eureka," she said with a smile.

"What?"

"Eureka, that's what scientist usually say when they've finished a problem or discovered something, I finished the last millennium equation, I am totally done. Well, I'm still writing my conclusion but the equation is done."

"You finished this today?"

"Yes, technically I worked really hard on it last week but yes I officially finished them I'm done and I've decided to publish them. I called the president of the Clay mathematics institute and he's really excited to see them, we're meeting in New York in next week. He's going to have math scholars review the problems and then they want to publish them."

"Well then congratulations are in order, I am really proud of you."

He walked to the opposite side of the couch so he was directly in front of her and kissed her.

"You did good work."

She smiled.

"Thank you, they're actually offering me 1 million dollars per problem, well they offer that to anyone that solves them if they're correct, which they are and I can use that money on research and development and new hires."

"This calls for celebrating, what should we do?"

"Uhm, I don't know," Olivia said shyly.

"Come one Livie, think of something, anything?"

"Can we go out for mexican food, I want tacos and a margarita."

Fitz was slightly perplexed.

"You just solved 6 of the hardest math problems known to man and you want tacos as a rewards."

"Yep."

"Good choice, let's go. I have to warn you though, mexican food makes me gassy."

Olivia laughed and got up to put on her shoes and then they both headed out to find the guards while Olivia googled mexican restaurant locations on her phone.

Once they chose the restaurant, Hal sent some guards ahead to secure the location while Olivia and Fitz followed behind. An hour later, they were sitting in a secluded booth a waiting to be served. Olivia ordered chicken and shrimp nachos with chihuahua and mozzarella cheese, pico de gallo, sour cream and guacamole. Fitz ordered a three fish tacos with cotija cheese, cilantro and pico de gallo. Once the servers arrived, they nervously placed their food on the table, along with Olivia's margarita and Fitz's whiskey then left. Olivia's eyes opened wide at how absolutely scrumptious her food looked and she couldn't wait to dig in.

"Oh my gosh, I have to take a picture."

Olivia pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of her plate.

"Smile, I'm gonna take a picture of you."

Fitz smiled as Olivia snapped a picture with flash and then she looked down at her phone to make sure it came out alright.

"Nice, mr. Handsome."

She placed her phone down and then pulled a tortilla out of a mountain of cheese and bit it.

"Oh god, that so much better, so much better than I thought it was gonna be."

Fitz smiled and took a bite of his fish taco and he agreed that it was delicious.

After they finished eating, the sat relaxing in the booth as they finished their drinks Olivia showed Fitz funny memes from online. A little later in the night, they headed back to the residence to shower and prepared for bed.

Olivia stayed naked under her towel robe while Fitz wore only his boxer briefs. She threw off her robe at the side of the bed before she joined him in bed.

"So now that I'm officially your betrothed, this is your vagina, do you wanna lick your vagina," she said jokingly.

"I do, just one lick though."

"No," she protested, "not just one."

"I wonder how many licks it takes to get you to an orgasm," Fitz said out loud.

She could see him thinking and then it was almost as if a lightbulb went off in his head.

"Let's play a game or this is more like an experiment - see your brilliance is rubbing off on me already- I'm going to lick your clit really fast and I want you to count how many times I do it until you cum."

Olivia squealed excitedly.

"That's sounds like my kinda game, oops… experiment."

Fitz smiled and sat up and pulled the sheet down to the end of the bed so they weren't hindering them in any way. She laid flat in the bed.

"Spread your apart and hold them back."

"Okay," she said with a smile as she did what she was told.

He kneeled in front of her and leaned over in what resembled a crouching position. He used his thumbs to spread her lips apart and licked up and down her slit her once.

"One,' she said delightfully.

He smiled and licked her again.

"Two...Three..Four…"

He licked her again and again and she counted for as long as she could and after her orgasm, Fitz sat up.

"Okay, how much?"

"How much what?" she said as she panted.

"How many times did I lick you before you came."

Olivia shrugged.

"I don't know, I lost count at 11."

Fitz chuckled and laid beside her.

"You're suppose to be the scientist and you bailed on our experiment… sad!"

She chuckled and sat up and pulled down his boxers.

"Okay, since you have such an opinion, lets see how you fare."

* * *

The next evening, Olivia got to the residence a little after 7pm. She headed straight to the dining room to meet Fitz and Gerry. When she walked in, they were seated and had already started eating.

She walked over to Fitz and kissed his temple and then gave Gerry a hug.

"Thanks for waiting on me guys."

They both started laughing and lifted the their plate covers revealing that they'd already eaten dinner without her.

Olivia scoffed.

"You guys suck."

They laughed at her again.

"Look, I was starving, I couldn't wait," said Gerry.

"And what about you Fitz, what's your excuse?"

"You know, I was pretty hungry too."

"Mhm," she said, like a southern grandmother scolding her grandchild.

She sat at the chair beside Fitz and lifted off her dome plate cover and grabbed her fork to eat.

"So Gerry, are you glad to be back?"

"Yeah, it's not the worse thing in the world to be a rich kid in Beverly Hills for the summer but I'm glad to be back."

The one thing Olivia admired about Gerry was how self aware he was. He knew he was wealthy and privileged and he often made fun of himself about that fact, a habit he picked up from Fitz no doubt.

"I guess it's not the worse thing in the world," she agreed.

"Congratulation to you guys by the way, I'm gonna be the best man right?"

Fitz chuckled.

"Olivia doesn't want a wedding, she wants to elope."

Olivia interjected.

"Thank you but I haven't made up mind about the whole eloping thing, I'm open to a wedding."

Fitz smiled.

"Really?"

"Yeah 100%."

"Wait, you're 100% open to it or you 100% want a wedding."

"I'm 100% open to it."

They sat around, chatting casually as Olivia ate. There wasn't that much to catch up with up with since she kept in touch with Gerry regularly through text and the saw him two weeks prior at Fitz birthday party.

After dinner, they went to Fitz's bedroom and Gerry went to his bedroom. The moment they walked into the bedroom Fitz picked her up and spin her around.

"You said you didn't want a wedding," he said with a smile.

She laughed.

"I sort of changed my mind."

"Why?"

"I don't know, it's my first marriage and last if you behave yourself, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to be open to the pomp and circumstance of a wedding."

"I'm open to as much pomp and circumstance as you want, as long as it's sooner than later, before I start campaigning, you are going to be my wife before then."

"If I'm gonna get married, it has to be in the spring."

"Why?" Fitz asked.

"Flowers of course, spring is the best time for flowers."

"Okay but we're still gonna start trying for a baby in December like you promised right?"

"I promised, didn't I," she said with a smile.

"You did," he agreed with a smile.

She kissed him and shimmied out his grasp to the floor.

"Come on, I need a nice long bath before I go to bed, I'm exhausted."

"Okay, let's go."/


	56. Chapter 56

**1 week later.**

Fitz woke up to Tom standing above him. He sat up quickly, he knew that they only woke him from his sleep in dire circumstances.

"What's going on Tom?"

"Sir, the FBI director has requested a late meeting with you, he said it was urgent."

Fitz turned and looked at Olivia who was sleeping peacefully.

"I'll be right out," he said quickly to Tom.

Fitz was completely naked and so was Olivia, luckily when Tom came in the room they were covered by the sheets. He quickly got up and checked the time on the nightstand and then he threw on his boxers and went to the closet to find pants and a t shirt. He worried about what exactly it was the FBI director found out that was so drastically urgent that he called a meeting at almost 1am in the morning. It was extremely unusual and there could really only be one reason for it: he found the tapes.

Once he was dressed, he quickly rushed out to the hallway to meet Tom and then they headed to the situation room to meet the FBI director.

When Fitz walked in the room, he was surprised to see the director with several other career intelligence personal, Cyrus, NSA advisor and CIA director.

They all stood when he walked into the room and he gestured quickly for them to sit down.

"What's going on?" Fitz asked.

"Fitz you need to hear this," Cyrus was the first to say.

His FBI director stood.

"Sir, we've discovered some new highly disturbing intelligence having to do with our counterintelligence investigation into the events that to took place at the facility in Yazd."

Fitz cleared his throat.

"What did you find?"

"Well sir, firstly, it wasn't just Olivia Pope that was kidnapped and held captive at the facility in Yazd."

"It wasn't?"

"No, the perpetrators took a total of 21 chemical and nuclear scientist from different countries all around the globe and held them at the facility, ms. Pope was the 22nd and last captive."

"Why would they need that many scientist?"

"After we placed economic sanctions on Iran in order to stop their nuclear capabilities, supreme leader Sassani began searching for new ways to develop the same weapons or new weapons completely but he wanted to avoid detection. He learned about a very powerful chemical bomb that was created by an American scientist, it was untraceable and undetectable and he thought he could use such a bomb to attack New York in retaliation for the sanctions. That was when he started kidnapping scientist from Germany, Norway, India, Japan in an attempt to find someone who could make such a bomb. They didn't take American scientist at the time because they thought it was too risky and they also didn't know the scientist that created the bomb. He contracted Farookh to help, Farookh found the scientists, kidnapped them and kept them at his facility where he had his men torture them into building weapons but they didn't know how to build the specific weapon they wanted so he eventually killed them one by one and started searching for new scientists, that was when Eli Pope offered them his daughter who he claims was the original creator of the bomb they sought. He heard about the plan through backchannels he had maintained with several known terrorists and mobsters and reached out to Farookh to make a deal. The Iranian government paid Eli Pope the total sum of a 1% stake in the multibillion dollar Iranian oil company AEI oil, equivalent to £140 million and in exchange he promised that he would deliver Ms. Pope to them and she would build them the bomb they sought."

"What is the confidence level on your conclusion?"

"We are very confident sir."

"It's been almost a year, why did it take so long for you to conclude this?"

"Sir, it was conspiratorial, every source offered something different but it took time to make sure the intelligence was accurate and to put the story together, we wanted to be sure considering the severity of the situation. They managed to avoid being picked up on our intercepts so we relied on assets in the region."

Fitz could tell that wasn't all they had to report by the worried look on John's face.

"That isn't all, is it?"

"No sir, there is something else but given the sensitive nature, I'd prefer to brief you alone."

Fitz cleared his throat.

"Can we have the room please, Cyrus stay."

"Robert and Tim, they worked to acquire the intelligence from the Iranians and reviewed it to determine the content and it's authenticity and Wren served as translator. I would request that they stay as well."

Fitz nodded.

Once everyone left the room he began.

"What do you have?"

"Video sir, of one victim being tortured and interrogated."

"And that one victim is?"

Fitz was asking questions he already knew the answers to.

"Olivia Pope."

"Why is it just her that's on tape?"

"They didn't deem the other victims important enough to tape. Sassini asked for regular updates on her status, we believe the videos were recorded to show him."

"How did you find it?"

"We managed to acquire a copy from the Iranian revolutionary guard digital cloud the only problem is that when we broke into the system and took the copy, we tried to erase all the copies they had and in doing so we were detected, they know we have it."

"Have you seen it?"

"I have sir," John replied.

"Okay."

"Sir, I'd just like to warn you that what you are about to see is extremely graphic."

Fitz took a deep breath and nodded.

John turned to Robert, who took that as a silent cue to play the video.

/

The screen in the situation room flashed white and then there Olivia was, laying on the floor in a white room, in white clothes. She was soaking wet and shivering, under her eyes her dark purple in what seemed to be cause from a mixtures of malnutrition, stress and lack of sleep. She had a dark purple bruise on her lower right jawbone.

Whoever was recording stepped back and he could see that there were a bunch of other men in the room dressed in white hazmat suits. One man stepped forward, he was the only one without a hazmat suit, he was dressed in a white turban and white robes. He leaned over Olivia and uttered something in Arabic.

"What did he say?" Fitz asked.

"He asked when was the last time she slept sir," Wren answered.

Another man spoke in Arabic.

"He said he's kept her awake for two days."

The man stepped closer to Olivia and Fitz could see that it was Farookh. He stooped beside her and started speaking english.

"Hello Olivia, you don't look so good. You've been here a month, my patience and the patience of my men is growing thin. You don't have to put up with this much longer, just give us what we want and we'll treat you a lot better, I will make sure there is no more waterboarding and beatings, we'll feed you, maybe turn the heat up a little bit so it can be nice and comfortable in here, so what do you say, give us what we want and we can talk about all the ways we can make you more comfortable, if you don't give us what we want, I'm afraid things will only get worse for you, it's all up to you Olivia. Are you going to help us?"

Olivia didn't move or speak, she just laid still in the floor. Farookh grabbed her by the neck and she whimpered and held unto his wrists.

Fitz quickly turned his head away but then he turned back.

Farookh sat her up and she grabbed her rib in pain, she was barely holding herself up.

"What is it going to be Olivia?" Farookh asked in his thick middle eastern accent.

She didn't answer, her head bobbed back and forth as she struggle to sit up because she was so exhausted from sleep deprivation.

"Answer me!" Farookh screamed as he shook her back and forth.

She closed her eyes, struggling to stay up and Farookh let go of her throat, stepped back and then slapped her across the face with all his might. She fell to the floor and blood ran for corners of her mouth. Farookh drew his leg back and kicked her in the rib, over and over again until she started crying and then he grabbed her by the hair and held her up.

"I need that bomb Olivia and you're the only one that can build it. Give me the formula, the ingredients, give me something," he screamed.

"I-I can't, I'm sorry. I don't know how-"

"You're lying, I know you know how to do it because you father told me you did."

"I can't help you kill all those people," she barely managed to say.

Farookh huffed and used his fist to press into her broken rib cage. She coughed and blood came up but she still stayed silent.

Farookh sighed and let her go. She fell to the floor once again. He turned around and faced his men.

"Again," he commanded.

She laid still as five of the men gathered around her, each of them held a limb and one placed a piece of thin cloth over her face and held her face. Another man walked up with a jug of water and slowly poured it over her face.

Fitz watched as Olivia struggled for air while two of the men were practically kneeling on her chest in order to hold her down as they drowned her with water.

When they finally got off of her, after using about 3 jugs of water, Olivia coughed up water and blood heaved for air. Farookh walked over to her and leaned over towards her.

"Rethink your decision."

He stood up and as he was walking out the video cut off and a new one began.

The screen cut to Olivia, she was on the same spot on the floor, drowsy but awake.

The camera panned up to Eli and Farookh who were standing in front of her. Eli stooped beside her but Farookh kept standing.

The minute Eli stopped beside her, she began crying hysterically.

"Dad, please help me, please," she begged.

"The last time I saw you, you told me you never wanted to see me again and now you're begging me to help you. Why don't you help yourself, you could've avoided all of this if you'd have just given them what they want," Eli replied.

She sniffled and wiped her eyes.

"I won't help them to kill, when I became a doctor, I swore an oath that I would do no harm-" she said shakily.

"Break it!" he screamed, "Olivia you wouldn't have to suffer like this if you just did what they asked of you, if you can't do that then I'm afraid things won't get much better, I won't be able to help you."

Olivia stayed quiet, silently crying.

Eli got frustrated and grabbed her by the shirt collar and shook her.

"Olivia!" he screamed.

She still wouldn't respond so he let her go.

"Olivia please, as your father, I'm asking you to do what they ask, help yourself, get yourself out of this situation."

They waited for a response but she said nothing.

"You see, she won't speak, all you have given us is a statue that bleeds and screams and cries. You better pray that she's give us the formula because if she doesn't Sassini is coming after you next because we made a deal," Farookh said angrily.

"Do not threaten me, I recall our deal, I delivered you a scientist who could build your bomb, it's your job to get her to actually do it and I also remember that apart of our deal required her not being dead when this is over," Eli replied.

"Do you think you have any say in what we do to her or whether we keep her alive. Sassini made it clear that if she doesn't help she dies. He doesn't want a trail."

Eli stood up and walked over to his guards.

"You heard them Olivia, if you don't help you die so the fate of your life is in your hands, not mine."

Upon realizing that he was going to leave, Olivia started to panic.

"Please don't leave me here, dad, please."

"I can't help you."

"Then kill me, please, I can't take this anymore..."

Farookh walked up and stood directly in front of her and struck her across the face, a hard blow that sent a rush a blood down her nostrils. She looked up at Eli to see if he would do anything about it but he didn't, he turned his back and walked out and she broke into sobs.

The video end and another to begin.

Olivia was being held down by the same group of men. She didn't resist or fight, she laid still, she didn't have the energy to fight anymore. One of the men held her arm out and then Farookh opened a small case and took a syringe out.

"I got this specially for you Olivia."

He pulled the cap off and jammed the syringe containing a silvery substance into Olivia's arm. The serum had an immediate response, Olivia drew in a deep, hoarse breath and then screamed in unmitigated agony.

"What did they do to her?" Fitz asked terrified as he jumped up.

She dug into her inner elbow where they injected the substance.

"Sir, it's a man made chemical agent created a few years ago called Vxb or 'burning man', once injected into the vein it's creates a burning sensation all throughout the body, it simulates the feeling of being on fire but from within."

Olivia stopped screaming and started seizing. Her mouth frothed and her eyes rolled back as her body convulsed.

"She's having a seizure let her go, let her go," Farookh screamed, "where's the antidote?"

One of the men ran over and with another syringe and they held her down and jammed it into her arm and within a minute, her seizing stopped and she laid unconscious on the floor.

"Is she breathing?" Farookh asked.

One man checked her pulse and nodded.

The video ended and another one was about to begin.

"Turn it off," Fitz said softly.

Wren quickly cut off this video.

"My god," Cyrus said in horror, "how many more videos are there?"

"Sir, there are a total of 4 videos," John replied.

Fitz sat staring in space, even though the video had ended he could still hear Olivia screaming, it's echoed through his ear like a bell that wouldn't stop ringing.

"Sir, we'll give you a minute," John said as he took the other FBI agents and escorted them out of the room.

Cyrus walked over to Fitz and took a seat beside him.

Fitz sat and just shook his head in disbelief.

"I -I didn't know it was that bad, she didn't tell me."

Fitz was at a loss for words, he just sat in stunned silence.

"Take a second to calm down, she's survived it and she's alright so don't be retroactive about this. We have most of your national security team here, I summoned them all for this reason so we can figure out how to handle this."

Fitz took a deep breath and tried to calm down for Olivia's sake but he couldn't help but panic at the possibility of the video becoming public. Just the thought of how it would hurt her and how far it would set her back after all the progress they made was agonizing.

"I'm gonna call the team back in so we can figure out how to handle this,"

Cyrus said as he went to call all the men and woman back into the room so they could strategize and figure out how to go forward with the situation.

* * *

When Olivia woke up a little after 6 in the morning, she reached over and felt Fitz's side empty. She stretched and sat up and headed to the bathroom but he wasn't there either so she figured he had an early day. She went back to the room to get her phone and texted him asking him where he was, when she didn't get an immediate response, she showered and brushed her teeth and went to get dressed for her meeting in New York with the president of Clay Mathematics Institute. She wore white Theory skinny ankle pants and matching blazer and Chanel pussy tie button down top and suede nude Jimmy Choo pumps. She did her makeup and straightened her hair then grabbed her Hermes bag and went to the kitchen to get a bagel and cup of coffee before she went to find Fitz. He still hadn't texted her back so she figure he was busy but all the same she still wanted to see him before she left for New York.

As she walked down the hall of the west wing she noticed that there were a lot more people than usual roaming the halls. When she neared Fitz's office, she saw Cyrus exiting and heading her way.

"Liv?"

"Hi Cyrus, what's up?"

He stopped and stared at her then gave her a tight hug.

"Woah, what was that for," she said with a smile.

"I can't give you a hug without you asking me a hundred questions."

Olivia chuckled.

"Oops, my bad, it's just that your not mushy but I'm not complaining," Olivia paused, "is Fitz in a meeting or something, he didn't answer my text and he was already gone when I woke up."

"Yeah, he's in a really important meeting."

"Aww man, okay, well when you see him tell him to call me, I gotta go, I have a flight to catch."

"I will."

Olivia waved Cyrus goodbye and then headed to the car.

As soon as Olivia was out of view, Cyrus turned around and headed back to the oval.

"She's gone."

Fitz nodded but didn't turn around, he was standing by the window.

"You can't hide from her forever, eventually you will have to tell her, preferably soon because if our plan doesn't work and this comes out, she'll be completely blindsided and somehow I feel like that would be worse than telling her right now so she's prepared if it comes out."

"I'll tell her."

"When?"

"I don't know."

"Fitz-"

"I said I'll tell her," he yelled.

Cyrus sighed.

"I'm just trying to help."

"I know, I'm sorry, I just need a minute to myself to think."

Cyrus shrugged.

"Alright fine, I'll give you a few minutes, I'll be back."

Fitz nodded and with that Cyrus left Fitz to himself. _/_


	57. Chapter 57

**Hello everyone, hope you enjoy this chapter and let me know your thoughts** below.

Three weeks later.

In the three weeks since Fitz saw the tapes, he might as well had been in another country because he completely avoided Olivia. He left before she woke up and waited until late in the night before he came back to the residence. Most nights when he came, she was already sleep, tired from working at the lab all day, but tonight, she was sitting on the couch, working on her laptop.

She looked up at him and waited for him to say something, for a moment it looked like he was but then shrugged inwardly and headed to the bathroom and closed the door behind him.

Olivia was at her peak with Fitz's odd behavior for the past few weeks. He never spoke more than 10 words to her in one setting before he scurried off somewhere. He didn't look her directly in the eyes, he didn't touch her, not to mention they hadn't had sex at all. After a week, she spoke with Savannah about his strange behavior, in return Savannah told her to speak with him the only problem was that he wasn't speaking, the only thing he did was make it clear that he didn't want her to leave and so she stayed at the residence with him. She hadn't slept at her apartment for over a month.

She rationalized, he said he was busy and for a few days that worked, but nothing in the news suggested anything out of the ordinary that would keep him occupied in the oval for 20 hours of the day. She knew things happened behind the scenes but even that didn't make any sense to her because anything that was big enough to warrant that much attention from the president would have come out already. The only real reason she could come up with for the explanation to his behavior was her.

She waited patiently for him to come out of the bathroom. She got the sense he was lingering because he wanted her to fall asleep by the time he came out. After an hour, she gave up and rested her laptop and notes on the coffee table in front of the couch and went over to the bed. She was exhausted and it was almost 1am, she couldn't wait much longer.

As she laid in bed and turned on her side to get in a comfortable position to sleep, she heard the door open. She had her back turned to him so she knew he couldn't tell whether he was sleeping or not. He walked into the closet and threw in a shirt and pajama bottoms and then a few minutes later he laid in bed beside her.

She turned around and sat up and faced him.

"Fitz, what's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've been ignoring me."

"I'm not ignoring you, I've just been busy."

"For three weeks now?"

Fitz laid still, he didn't reply.

"Is it me? Are you having second thoughts about the engagement?"

He finally looked at her, shocked that she would draw that conclusion.

"What? No. Why would you think that? I'd never regret that."

"I don't know," she said softly, "I couldn't come up with anything else, you've barely spoken to me, much less touched me in the past three weeks and it's really bothering me."

He caressed her cheek softly with the back of his fingers, still avoiding her eyes.

"Is that better?"

"A little bit," she said with a smile, "maybe... a kiss."

Fitz leaned in and kissed her softly in the lips. Off the bat, she could tell it was different from how he normally kissed her, it wasn't lusty or hungry, there was affection behind it, but it was gentle, it was almost like he felt she would break if he kissed her too hard.

"Baby, something is wrong, what's going on?"

"Nothing."

"Why aren't you looking at me?"

She held his face up to her so she could see him. When Fitz finally looked up, she frantically searched his eyes, hoping they would reveal whatever it was that was going on with him. She found silent panic and fear.

"You're afraid, what are you afraid of, what's going on?"

"Nothing."

"Is there anything you're not telling me," her eyes welled up with water at the realization that the only thing that could rattle Fitz was something truly nefarious, "did you find the tapes," she said shakily.

It had been such a long time since she thought about that chance of that coming out, Fitz had done a great job of making her forget.

"No," Fitz said quickly.

She sighed in relief and wiped her eyes.

He immediately regretted the lie but he saw how relieved she was that he couldn't take it back.

"I'm sorry, I'm such a drama queen," she said with a chuckle.

"Don't be sorry," Fitz said softly.

"I know your job is hard and you deal with a lot, I know I'm probably reading too much into everything but I'm worried about you."

"I'm fine, I promise."

Olivia sighed and nodded then leaned in and kissed him.

"Okay."

Fitz nodded and laid down once again. Olivia leaned over and rested her head in his chest, it was how she fell asleep faster. She had hoped to talk to him about a lot more but sensing it wasn't a great time, she let it go, it also wasn't a great time to have sex but she couldn't let that go, she wanted it. She laid debating how she could get him to have sex with her, it was crazy she even had to do that because Fitz was like a horny puppy on Viagra, he never _not_ wanted to have sex. He was way too tense, she could feel it. She sat up and without hesitation and got on top of him, straddling him.

"Liv-"

"Shh," she said as she leaned down and kissed him. She pinned his arm down before he had the chance to resist. Fitz enjoyed the kiss for a moment until his mind flashed back to the video and he broke the kiss and pulled his arms from her grasp.

"Liv-"

She sat up, not understanding why he was being so...withholding. She could feel his erection between her legs so she knew he wanted it, she just didn't know why he was resisting.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm just- I'm tired."

Olivia groaned.

"What do you mean you're tired, I can feel your erection."

"Liv-"

"Uh-It's fine."

She got off and plopped down beside him. She sighed loudly, just so he knew she wasn't happy about his rejection. She couldn't sleep so she fidgeted, not caring it if was preventing Fitz from sleeping as well, it was her petty way of getting back at him. After 10 minutes went by, 10 minutes of convincing himself to build the guts to act on his urges, Fitz sat up and leaned over and kissed her.

"Finally," she said with a smile.

He kissed her again as she pulled his shirt over his head.

He tried to clear his mind and just focus on her, in the moment, and not worry about the tapes, or all the drama that was going on with Iran behind the scenes.

She pulled up her silk nightgown and pulled him in between her legs. He raised her up and pulled the delicate straps of her gown down her shoulders. He softly kissed her lips then chin and then down her neck and chest. He kissed in between her breasts and then gently squeezed them together before he sucked her nipples.

"Hmm," she moaned softly.

She ran her hands through his hair and settled them around his neck as he kissed down her stomach over the delicate silk material of her nightgown. She pulled up her dress further so he could take her panties off. Once he did, he threw them on the floor. He leaned up and proceeded to pull down his pajama bottoms, Olivia helped him because after three weeks of abstinence, she was more than eager.

Once he was freed, he laid in between her legs once again. He hesitated before entering her and for the life of her she couldn't figure out why. He looked at her momentarily before he guided himself inside her and in that moment, she had a gut feeling that he knew about the tapes. He leaned down and kissed her as he slowly and gently thrusted into her. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck and tried to convince herself that she was mistaken because she knew him and he would have told her.

She moaned when she felt him grind in a slow, circular motion. The one thing he succeeded in doing in that moment was to take her mind off of what could be and solely focus her attention on him. He rested his forehead against hers, moving slowly, sensually; gingerly running his hands over her body but he lingered and caressed certain places that he never usually did, like her ribcage and clavicle. He rubbed his thumb softly over the bone under her skin, he kissed her cheek and then buried his face in the crook of her neck.

 _She knew that he knew._

She bit her lip and tried to not to cry but she was feeling overwhelmed with emotions and the fact that Fitz kept her on the brink of an orgasm from the moment he entered her didn't do much to help her control herself either. She felt it, the tightening of her walls, the fire in her loins and then her orgasm erupted and she couldn't hold back anymore, the sobs began.

She covered her face and cried.

Fitz pulled out, sat up quickly and tried to console her.

"Liv, please, please, please, don't cry," he said frantically.

He lived in perpetual fear of seeing her cry that way, especially for something he blamed himself for. He tried to pulled her hands from her face, albeit gently so it took some time. Once he finally got them from her face he clasped them together.

"You knew, you knew all along, why didn't you tell me," she said as she continued sobbing.

He could see the droplets of water stuck in her lashes and running down her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry, I should have told you."

"Why didn't you," she said as she wiped her eyes.

"Because I didn't want to see you like this, you were happy and I didn't want to cause you any more grief, I didn't want to disappoint you, I'm so sorry."

Olivia drew in a deep breath and tried to calm down. Her breath quivered as she sat up. Her dress dangled around her waist reminding her that she was naked in more ways than one so she pulled the straps over her shoulders covering her naked breast.

Fitz waited anxiously for what she would say next. He really couldn't tell if she was angry with him.

"Please talk to me," he implored, "I know you must be angry and you have every right to be angry with me."

"I am angry but not because you didn't tell me, but because you thought the best way to handle the situation was to ignore me for three weeks, is it because of what you saw, is that why it was so hard for you to touch me, I'm too damaged now."

"No," he said quickly. He caressed her cheek and expected her to pull away but she didn't and he was grateful. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before saying what he had to say.

"When I saw what they did to you, it made me sick, not because of anything that you did but because it was so hard to see to watch what they did to you, you are so kind and so strong and so beautiful, you didn't deserve that but most of all I just feel like I failed you because you should've never been there in the first place, and everyday that you were there was another day that I failed you."

"Fitz that not-"

"I know what you're gonna say, it's not true but I just can't help feeling that way. I know I should've told you right away but I didn't because I just thought that if I could fix it before I told you, maybe it wouldn't hurt you so much. I avoided you because I felt like if I had a single conversation with you, you'd know exactly what I was trying to hide and also," Fitz sighed and thought it would be better to be completely honest, "I've haven't been able to get what I saw out of my mind, it plays on a constant loop everyday in my head."

She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly. He was expecting her reaction to be more explosive but he was grateful it wasn't.

Olivia took a deep breath, "is it coming out?"

"That's what we've been doing for the past few weeks, making sure they don't."

"How did you find it?"

"The FBI did, they took them from the Iranian revolutionary guard database but when they tried to erase their copies they got detected, so they know we have it. That was three weeks ago. They're kind of holding it over my head because they know that I don't want it released but were taking care of it."

"How?"

"The CIA is trying to assassinate Sassini, it's suppose to happen in two days."

"So you were going to tell me after he died?"

"Yes, I was."

"And when he dies what about the tapes."

"That's why it's in two days, the analysts think they'll be able to wipe it from the database by then, we're watching to see if they try to make any other copies but they haven't so far."

Olivia let go of his waist and sat up so she could face him.

"You still should have told me."

"I know, I'm sorry, I'm really, really, sorry."

"I know, I wish you did but I understand why you didn't, I'm not sure I'd be jumping at the bit to share bad news with you either."

Fitz took a deep sigh of relief at her understanding and kissed her temple.

"I don't want you to tell me what you saw but are you sure that after watching it everything is the same between us, nothing's changed. You're not gonna treat me differently."

"I love you more, if that's even possible but honestly I think it's gonna take a little time for me to not be weird but that's not a bad thing, now is the time to take advantage of me if you want, I don't think I can tell you no, you will be the most spoiled fiancee/wife in history," he said lightly hoping to cheer her up.

It worked for a moment because she smiled but then her eyes well up with tears and she covered her face again.

"No, don't cry, please Liv," he said as he hushed her and moved her hands from her face.

"I know, I just wasn't expecting this, I knew there was a possibility that it could come out, I just hoped it never would and now it might so it's just a lot to process," she said as she dried her face.

"I know but I'm here for you and I'm doing everything to make sure that it doesn't come to that but in the meantime just promise me that you won't spend all your time worrying about this, let me do that, I know you have to go to that concert tomorrow that should be fun- it's tomorrow right?"

"Yes it's tomorrow but I can't go, not anymore."

"You should go, just go have and fun and forget about this."

"I can't go and I definitely can't forget about this."

"Come on, I know how much you love those weird bands, the Temperament Trap."

Olivia chuckled and rolled her eyes.

"It's the Temper Trap."

"The Two door movie theatre club."  
"It's the Two door cinema club Fitz."

He smiled.

"Group Orgy."

"It's Grouplove," she said laughing, "wow you actually know them."

"I do, you've been listening to it every night this week."

"Well, my fiance was ignoring me so I didn't have a choice."

Fitz smiled and shook his head.

"I don't deserve you, you're way too good for, me please never figure that out."

She chuckled then bit her lip, her eyes were still wet so he took his thumbs and wiped the water from her lashes and then kissed her softly.

"I love you and I really am sorry," he said sincerely, emotion heavy on his voice.

"I love you too and I think it's important that you know that if this video comes out, it's not your fault, it'll just be something we have to get through together, okay."

Fitz had noticed that she used the term 'video' more than once, suggesting she didn't know there were videos. He didn't want to ruin the moment but he didn't want a repeat of the last three weeks so he decided to be honest right there and then.

"Olivia, how many videos do you think there are?"

"One, how many are there?"

Fitz cleared his throat.

"There are four videos."

Olivia took a deep breath.

"How many have you seen?"

"Three."

The tears came again but this time she wasn't going to let him stop her from crying, she wanted to cry, she need to cry, to get the grief out of her system. He reached out to console her but she wouldn't let him.

"Just let me cry."

Fitz let her go and allowed her to lay on the bed as she wished but he still didn't feel comfortable just letting her cry.

"Can I hold you," he asked softly.

She nodded and allowed him to lay beside and wrap his arms around her. He kissed her softly on the cheek and they both laid in virtual silence, the only audible sound being Olivia's occasion sniffles until even those subsided and he realized she was asleep.

* * *

The next morning when Olivia woke up, later than usual she realized Fitz was gone and she almost had a fit until she heard footsteps approaching and saw him coming in from the balcony.

"I thought you left."

"No, of course not, not after last night."

He was dressed casually so she knew he must've cancelled his day or at least postponed it.

She smiled.

"Good because I was going to have a serious fit."

He chuckled.

"And rightfully so."

He walked closer and stopped right in front of her and kissed her.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better."

"Are you sure."

"Yeah, I feel better."

He kissed her again.

"Breakfast is out on the balcony for you."

"Thanks but I think I want to shower first before I eat, will you wait for me?"

"Oh, I already ate, I was hungry too, I couldn't wait."

She smiled and punched his arm.

"Not. Nice."

He shrugged playfully.

They heard a knock on the door and looked up.

"Not now," Fitz called out.

"Dad, it's Gerry."

"Can he come in," he whispered to Olivia.

She nodded.

"Come in."

Gerry walked in, fully dressed in his uniform for school.

"Liv, I texted you but you didn't reply, is everything still on for tonight?"

She pondered for a moment.

"Yeah, everything is still on."

"Great because Kenna is really excited to come with us."

"Gerry's going to the concert with you?" Fitz asked.

"Yeah, dad, I asked you last week and you said yes, although I'm pretty sure you were ignoring me the entire conversation."

"Oh, okay, that's probably why I don't remember."

Gerry shrugged nonchalantly.

"Okay, Liv, I'll meet you at the lab after school so you can finish showing me those how to find those genetic markers."

Gerry turned around to head out but she stopped him.

"Wait- Gerry, I'm not going to the lab today, we can finish working on that on Monday, I'll just meet you here and we can go leave for New York."

Gerry nodded.

"Okay, see ya later."

Gerry headed out and left them. Olivia went to shower shortly after then met Fitz out on the balcony to have breakfast.

She sat in the couch beside him and grabbed a bagel from the table.

"I'm going to tell you everything, starting from from Ethiopia so that you aren't left guessing about anything and then we figure out where to go from there."

"Liv, you don't have too."

"I know, but I want to."

Fitz nodded.

"Okay."

She took a deep breath. She was going to give him a brief overview of what happened, if she gave him every single detail, they'd be here for days.

"Okay, after one of the guys grabbed me out of the tent and the phone fell, they dragged me into the opening by the campfire. All the male doctors laid dead, including Caleb, a friend of mine, all the female doctors were line up on the ground including Abby and Siobhan, she was another one of my friends. He threw me beside them and took out a picture to confirm it was me they wanted and then he order one of the other guys to kill all the other doctors and take me. I got scared and grabbed onto to Abby and begged them not to kill her so they gave me a choice: save Abby or 5 other doctors that were lined up on the ground, I chose Abby," she paused, "they made us watch as they shot them each in execution, they were screaming my name and begging me not to let them die but I couldn't do anything about it and then Rex, he was the leader, his men dragged us to the car. I saw the bodies of the villagers, laying on the ground on the way to the car. They put me and Abby in separate cars and as soon as the car drove off they knocked me out. When I woke up, me and Abby were on this dirt floor in a hallway that led to outside, before we could even think of trying to escape, the guys came up to us, Rex teased us a little, told me that they were hired to kidnap me and they didn't get paid for it and that they were angry, he told me that they were going to kill Abby just for the fun of it then they left. I tried to come up with a plan to escape, I crawl to the end of the hallway to look outside to try to figure out where we were. I guess I sort of knew we both couldn't get away, if I got away they would surely kill Abby but if she got away based on what they told me, I don't think they would have killed me because they needed me so I decided that it would have to be Abby, I taught her how to mumble a few words in arabic and told her that if she made it back, she should tell you everything that happened. After we were pretty sure of what the plan was, I screamed to draw the guards to us and it worked because they all came running and then I told Abby to run. I grabbed one of the knives from one of the guards and stabbed him so that it was one less person chasing her, I didn't mean to kill him, I justed wanted to injure him and it worked, he was injured and couldn't run but then the leader Rex, saw what I did and killed him, right in front of me, his blood splashed in my face. He killed him because he said that it was one less person he had to share the money with. When they guards came back without Abby, they were really mad at me, and they beat me, I was laying on the ground and Rex kicked me in the ribs a few times, he broke two of my ribs and then he slammed me head against the ground and I lost consciousness, when I woke up I was in this little room that had no windows and left me there with some water, they never fed me. I'm not sure exactly how long I was in there, looking back I think it was a week but I don't know how long I was unconscious. When they finally took me out and brought me to a different room, my dad came. He told me to shower and get look presentable for Farrokh, he told me it was my fault that I was in that mess and that he was essentially getting back at me for not building the bomb for him to sell like 15 years earlier."

She paused and sighed.

"Farookh was nice at first, for the first two days, they kept me in a normal room with bed, they fed me really delicious middle eastern food and then after the two days he told me what he wanted. He told me their plan to fill barrels of the chemical through the subway system hoping the blast and shockwave from an explosion of that magnitude would level a sizable part of the city, they were aiming for the Times Square area. They said if I cooperated, they'd be nice to me and that once I gave them what they wanted they'd let me go which I knew was a lie, if I helped them then they'd just find another thing they wanted from me or they'd kill me. Obviously I told him no and he told me to think about it. He came back the next day and I told him no again and that was when he took me down to that white room and left me there. They stopped feeding me and only gave a bottle of water per day. I think I was there for a week before we came back and asked again and I told him no. Two weeks later he came back, but with 6 other guys wearing white and that's when they started the waterboarding and the beating and stuff. They wouldn't let me sleep and whenever it got too bad, they'd shove vitamins down my throat because they were afraid I was going to starve to death. My dad showed up at one point, I was so desperate that I begged him to help me even though the thought of asking him for help made me feel icky. After a few weeks, when they felt like the waterboarding and beatings weren't working, they got this little chemical, I don't know what it's called but-"

"It's called Vxb, I saw when they injected it into your arm."

She was quiet for a while.

"I that was the single most excruciating thing I've ever experienced in my life, I didn't know it was possible to feel pain like that. It was like I had lava running through my veins and I couldn't get it out."

"How many times did they use it?" he asked softly.

"11."

"Oh god, Liv."

He reached out and grabbed her immediately and wrapped his arms around her tightly. She wrapped her arms around around his neck and reciprocated his hug and then she held his face and kissed him softly.

"It's okay, I'm okay," she said softly.

She leaned back on his chest and sat quietly.

"They talked about killing me, I was kind of in a fugue state for the last three days or so I wasn't very aware of how they planned on doing it and then obviously, you rescued me before they got the chance to."

"Thank you so much, for sharing this with me. It answered a lot of questions I had and I know it wasn't easy for you and just please if you need anything at all just let me know, okay?"

"Okay," she said with a small smile, "I'm glad I finally got all of that out, so now you know everything that happened and we can move forward."

Fitz smiled.

"Yes we can."

They hung out for a while longer on the balcony until Fitz had to go back to oval, she went with him and stayed with him for the day as he came back and forth from the situation room. He had one of the analyst explain to her exactly what their plan was just so she had all the details of what would be happening in the next few days. He hoped it would help her be less anxious about the situation.

* * *

In the evening when Gerry came home, they got ready for the concert and left for the airport by 6pm. They arrived at Olivia's apartment by 8 to meet up with Abby, Kamaya, Harrison and Elliot. For the most part she managed to keep her mind from the situation with the tape and focus on conversing with everyone, catching up and listening to them talk about which songs they hoped to hear first and how excited they were that Tom got them front row tickets, mostly because of security purposes but regardless, it made the evening that much more fun.

By 8:30pm, they headed to the concert venue and were placed in their section minutes before the concert started.

One of Olivia's favorite bands opened the show, she was reserved at first but she kept remembering how Fitz begged her to forget about the drama and just have fun and as they went through her favorite songs and she looked over and saw all her friends and Gerry and Kenna dancing, singing and having fun, she couldn't help but join them and dance and scream and sing as well.

After an almost four hour concert where all she did was jump and scream, she was exhausted, she managed to stay up on the one hour plane ride back to D.C., mostly because she watched Gerry and Kenna debate which performances were the best. The guards drove Kenna home and Gerry and Olivia took a helicopter back to the whitehouse. When she got to the residence, the showered and then joined Fitz who was already asleep in the bed. She kissed him softly before she cuddle on his side and fell asleep moments later after an emotionally and physically exhausting 24 hours.


	58. Chapter 58

Two days later.

Saturday evening.

Olivia sat in the oval office waiting on Fitz to come back with either news that the mission failed or that it was a success. If it was a success, that would mean that they successfully retrieved the videos and destroyed the copies Iran had possession of, while simultaneously carrying out the assassination of Sassini. She had been waiting for more than an hour and she was nervous and her palms were sweating which was unusual for her. As she sat quietly, she heard the knob on the door turn and he appeared, he had a relieved look on his face and it made her smile.

"It's done," he said triumphantly.

She ran across the room and jumped on top of him and they tumbled to the ground. She had no idea her legs were able to carry her that fast but once she was on top of him, she showered him with kisses.

"You did it baby. Thank you, thank you, thank you, I love you so much," she said as she kissed him.

Fitz chuckled, "I love you too."

Cyrus walked in behind him and found them on the floor.

"I take it you shared the good news."

Fitz nodded and smiled.

The door opened again and a woman walked in. She was tall and plump with dark brown hair. She seemed to be in her mid 40's.

"Mr. President, sorry, I'll just come back later."

"No wait- Liv, this is Esme my new chief of staff, she just started a couple days ago after her security clearance finally checked out."

Olivia got off of Fitz and stood up then reached out and shook Esme's hand.

"It's nice to meet you, it's gonna be great to finally have a new chief of staff running the white house again, I'm sure everyone's gonna be glad to get rid of Cyrus."

"Hey," Cyrus chimed.

Esme smiled.

"It's nice to meet you too Olivia, it's truly a pleasure and- that is a beautiful ring," she said as she looked down at the huge diamond on Olivia's hand.

"Thank you."

Olivia smiled and stood awkwardly waiting for them to leave.

"Mr. President, the national security team is waiting to debrief you in the situation room," Esme said breaking the silence.

Fitz nodded.

"I'll be right there, just give me a minute."

"You mean hour," Cyrus said knowingly as he headed out.

Esme was confused by Cyrus comment but she let it go as she followed him out as well and closed the door behind her.

"Baby, on your desk."

Fitz chuckled and lifted her in the air and carried her over to his desk. He looked around to make sure all the windows were closed. He had a button on his desk that could closed the lock on the door remotely, Olivia reached over and pressed it. Fitz opened her legs and stood between them.

"I'm gonna fuck you right here on this desk."

Olivia smiled.

"I see your genteel approach didn't last very long," she teased.

"You wanted things to be normal right," he said with a chuckle.

He unclasped her pants button and pulled them down, with her underwear to follow. He licked her lips and then slithered his tongue into her mouth erotically as he took his time finger fucking her on the table.

"Hmm, right there," Olivia said breathily.

He shoved his fingers deeper and curved them.

"Right there?"

"Uh yes, baby, right there."

When she was overflowing with fluid, he pulled his fingers out and spread her legs further apart and licked her up and down.

"Oh my god baby," she moaned.

He slithered circles around her clit and then sucked it before he stood up and undid he pants and let them fall to the floor. He pulled her forward, so her ass was hanging of the resolute desk and then entered her slowly, kissing her as he gave her slow deep strokes.

Olivia pulled his face closer to hers so she could gaze into his eyes. Fitz's breath was rugged and hoarse as he thrust his cock into her. When she was close, he pulled out and spun her around then bent her over the desk and entered her again, pumping into her until she arched her back and grabbed unto his hand and interlocked their fingers. She squeezed tightly and bit her lip, trying her best not to scream as her orgasm took her. She found herself suffering from a mixture of shock and pleasure as she felt liquid spewing down her legs. Fitz watching in amazement as Olivia squirted and the liquid dripped down his cock, he came soon after, partially from sheer excitement.

They were both spent, they breathed heavily as they were both leaned over on the table, motionless.

Once Fitz caught his breath he stood up and pulled out and immediately a cascade of white fluid ran down Olivia leg. He turned her around so she was partially sitting on the table and spread her legs further and used both thumb to run up and down the lips of her vagina. Olivia looked down at him and saw that he was smiling.

"Look at that," he said in amazement as his watched him semen run slowly down her thigh, "Look at all that cream."

Olivia giggled and stood up.

"If you want to see more, I suggest you hurry to your briefing and then meet me in the residence."

"You've got it."

She pulled up her underwear and pants that were slightly damp and then she helped Fitz fix his pants as well. Although the sex was messier than she intended, she honestly couldn't complain because it felt absolutely euphoric. It was not the first time Fitz made her squirt, it had been happening more and more frequently and though it wasn't something she'd experienced before him, she was getting used to it, she loved it.

They worked on making each other presentable, they went to the private bathroom and cleaned up and then once they were done headed back to the desk, Olivia stood and faced him.

"Sorry about your carpet," she said with a chuckle as she looked down at the small wet spots.

"That's the best thing that's ever happened to it, don't worry."

"Okay meet me back in the residence, we should at least enjoy the rest of the evening."

Fitz nodded in agreement and kissed her. As he pulled away to leave for the briefing she stopped him and grabbed his face and kissed him again.

"If I were grading your performance just now, I'd give you an A+ for technique, execution and follow through, you really did god's work just now."

Fitz laughed and shook his head.

"And I'll finish god's work in 20 minutes when I get back from this briefing."

"Okay," Olivia said with a smile, "I'll be waiting."

They both left the oval at the same time, Fitz headed to his briefing and Olivia headed to the bedroom. The moment she stepped into the bedroom she began undressing, first taking of her top, then bra, then pants and finally her damp underwear. She went to the bathroom and put on her robe as she waited for Fitz to come back, she hoped he wouldn't take too long because after all, the mission was already a success, what more did he possibly need to know.

As she stood in the bathroom, she saw her bottle of body oil sitting on the counter and had an idea…

Almost a half hour later, Fitz walked into the bedroom.

"Olivia?"

"In here," she called from the bathroom.

He kicked off his shoes and pulled off his jacket as he walked to the bathroom. Olivia stood in the center of the bathroom with her robe open and it was slouchily falling off her arms. He could see that she had moved all the rugs from the floor, and replaced it with towels. Fitz smiled and undid the cuffs of his shirt then walked over and picked her up.

"What are you up too," he said with a smirk.

She held unto his cheeks and kissed him as he brought her over to the counter and rested her on top of it. She undid the buttons of his shirt and then pulled it off and then did the same to his pants and underwear. He was already erect.

"Look at you, all excited already," she teased.

"Well, I told you I wasn't finished with you, didn't I," he said with a smile.

Olivia picked up the bottle of body oil and opened the top.

"Lay on the floor, on your stomach."

"You've got it boss," he teased as he did what he was told.

She smiled and hopped off the counter. She pulled her robe off and threw it on the counter and walked over to where he was laying on the floor. She stood over him and poured about half of the bottle of oil on his back and legs and then sat on top of him with her legs on both sides. She heard Fitz chuckling.

"I have a feeling this is going to be the massage of a lifetime," he said in total contentment.

"You've got that right."

She took both thumbs and rubbed them in deep circles up and down the columns of his back. Fitz groaned.

She made her way up to his upper back behind his neck where she knew he was usually most tense and continued rubbing circles.

"That feel so good," Fitz breathed out.

Olivia decided to kick it up and notch. She knew were all his pressure points were and decided to make good use of that knowledge. She pinched the bundle of nerves at the base of his neck and then used her elbow to rub circles in the opposite side of his back. Fitz whimpered like a little puppy, which she thought was adorable because she'd never heard a sound like that come from him before.

She laughed and did the same thing again but on the opposite side of his back.

"Holy shit, what are you doing?"

"Your pressure points baby, I'm massaging them," she said as she leaned up and stopped.

"Olivia I'm begging you not to stop."

She smiled and started again. Fitz groaned and moaned in pleasure the entire time, Olivia enjoyed listening to the little sounds he made, the were arousing to say the least. When she finally stopped, Fitz popped his head up.

"You can't be finished already?"

"I am, I did your entire back."

"Really, because that took about 5 minutes, you can do better than that, come on Olivia, put those little fingers to work."

"You're such an idiot, I that was more than a half hour, I was very thorough," she said with a chuckle.

Fitz laughed mischievously.

"I feel like jello, I don't want it to end."

"Then turn around."

Fitz smiled and laid flat on his back. His entire body was lathered in oil, front and back.

She sat on his legs and massaged his chest and torso and worked her way down to his groin and then she massaged his balls and shaft as she sucked on this tip of his penis.

"Shit, shit, shit," Fitz chanted as he came.

Olivia let him go and watched as his cum spilled all over his stomach and he writhed in pleasure. He panted as he tried to catch his breath and once he did, he reached out and grabbed Olivia and pulled her on top of him and then flipped their positions so he was on top. He body was so oily that Olivia was sliding underneath him, she giggled wildly as he kissed all over her face. He rubbed his body on hers to get the oil all over her body. As she moved his body against hers, he rub the tip of his penis against her clit and got a resounding moan of approval from Olivia.

He smiled and sat up and grabbed the bottle of oil from the floor and poured it all over her body then he took his time massaging her breast, slowly and sensually, pinching her nipples every so often and rubbing then in between his fingertips as he watched her gasp silently.

He took his time, making his way down her body until he reached her center. He took more oil and drizzled it over her clit and watched as it slowly cascade down her creases then he rubbed his thumb over her clit and listened to Olivia's soft moans fill the air. He leaned up and kissed her as he slowly slid his middle and ring fingers inside her. Olivia wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her palm against his check, pressing his lips against hers.

"Baby-" she moaned softly against his lips as she closed her eyes.

Fitz continued, working his fingers in and out, up and down, until he felt her fingernails in his back and she curled her toes and bit her lips and succumbed to her orgasm. Fitz looked down and watch small amounts of fluid gush out unto the towel and then he realized that was why she put a towel there in the first place.

"Twice in one day, that's a new record for you," he teased.

Olivia smiled as she caught her breath.

"I didn't do it on my own, I had a little help from you."

Fitz smiled.

"Well congratulations, I'm really proud of you, I feel like this is porn star level stuff, you're doing big things Livie."

She laughed at his teasing and decided to play along.

"Yeah, I'm definitely on another level, I feel like if regular orgasms are level 1, then I'm at the level just beneath the bonus round and I'm pretty sure the bonus round is death because I don't think there are anymore orgasms that I can have, I think you've given me all of them."

"Yeah, I agree, I'm pretty great, I think after this presidency I might have a pretty lucrative career in the adult film industry."

Olivia rolled her eyes and eased up so she could switch their positions so she was on top.

"Okay 'mr. I'm Pretty Great' do you think you have another round in the tank."

Fitz sat up.

"What's my name?"

Olivia smiled.

"Fitzgerald Thomas Grant lll."

"What's my name?" he asked again.

"Fitzgerald Thomas Grant lll," she said laughing.

"I will always have a hard dick and a load of cum waiting for you."

"Ewww," Olivia said as she laughed.

Fitz kissed her.

"Shut up, you like it."

"Fine, I like it a little," she said with a smile as he kissed his chin.

She stooped and position herself on top of him then lowered herself on him.

"Oh god it's so big," she moaned as she swallowed his length up as much as she could take it. She could never get used to how defined he was.

She leaned back and rested her hands on his knees for support. She opened her legs towards him so he could watch as she thrusts her hip up and down in him. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes so she could focus and keep rhythm.

"Fuckkk," Fitz utter in a rough growl.

He reached forward pressed a thumb in her clit and rubbed circles around it.

"Yes! Fitz! Yes! Yes! Yes!"

Fitz grabbed onto her waist and pulled her on top of him and then flipped their position. She giggled as he turned her flat on her stomach and then kneeled behind her. He massaged her ass and dimples in her flower back then spread her cheeks as he drizzled more oil on her and slowly entered her. He leaned over on top of her and bore down into her slow and deep until they both came and then fell asleep right there on the floor.

The next morning Olivia woke up to Fitz staring at her, smiling.

"Morning," she said as she kiss him softly on the lip.

As she looked down at her body and remembered their shower, she specifically remember how Fitz took his time bathing her in the tub after the woke up in the early morning on the bathroom floor.

"It's Sunday, I hope you don't plan on working today, you did that last Sunday but then again you were avoiding me so…"

Fitz chuckled and kissed her.

"I'm sorry," he whined, "but you have me all to yourself."

"Okay, I have some questions.'

"Fire away," Fitz said.

"What about the tapes that you guys have, are those destroyed too?"

"Yeah, they have a description of the tape in writing but the actual tapes I had order them destroyed and everything else that has to do with you in Iran is classified above top secret, no one is getting it. Only very few people have been privy to the situation and of course they could leak what happened but can't leak tapes. "

She smiled.

"Thank you," she said as she kissed him.

"Anything for my queen," he took her hand and kissed it, "there is something else I wanted to tell you, I've never sort of found the right time to say it."

"What's up?"

"When we captured your father, we seized all his assets, he has hundreds of millions of dollars, whatever we determined was blood money we seized but there was a lot of it that we couldn't trace where it came from, he did will it all to you."

"What does he have?"

"153 million I think after tax, I can't remember the exact figure but he has it in a Swiss account, we seized his properties excluding your childhood home and we pretty much seized everything else."

She was quiet for a while, thinking.

"What should I do?"

"I think you should take it, I can understand why you wouldn't want to but I think you should. You can use it to fund your research, it's the least he can do and that way something positive can come from all the horrible things he's done."

Olivia scrunched her nose then smiled.

"That's a lot of money. Is it wrong that I'm excited about how much research I could do with that."

"No, it's yours. I have all the banking information in my office, we can go get it a little later."

"Okay," she said in agreement.

Fitz decided to turn the conversation.

"Enough about that, we have really important plans to make Livie."

"Like planning our wedding, we need a wedding planner, a good one because if we're getting married, it's going to be epic."

Fitz chuckled.

"I agree, I can get Lauren or Charlotte to start looking at some wedding planners, see who's available."

"Yeah that would be perfect, and by the way, you're the president, they'll be available."

"I guess you're right and also if I recall correctly someone has a birthday coming up."

Olivia smiled.

"Yeah, who's got two thumbs and and a birthday in two weeks, this gal."

"What do you want, as your gift?"

"I don't know, you don't have to get me anything expensive or over the top though, this ring is enough."

"Please, you know I can't give you anything subpar Olivia, prepare yourself for a spectacular gift."

She smiled.

"Okay fine but only 'cause your making me."

The laid in bed for most of the day, talking, laughing and relaxing because they both needed it after the tumultuous month they'd had.

Monday morning.

Fitz left for the oval before Olivia left for the lab but ended up calling her over because Esme wanted to speak with them both.

When Olivia walked into the oval she found a Fitz sitting by his desk and Esme on the couch, Fitz's face brightened up like a kid on Christmas morning.

"Livie, you look great, I told you that already right?"

She smiled.

"Yes you did."

He walked over and kissed her in the cheek then escorted her to the couch where he sat beside her.

"So Esme, what's going on, what did you need to talk about?"

"Dr. Pope, Mr. President, I wanted to talk to you about press, you still haven't confirmed the engagement, at least not publicly, the American people have never seen you two interact, they seem to like Dr. Pope so I think you two should have an official interview as a couple, we'll broadcast it primetime on Nbc or Cnn, sort of like an introduction of you two as a couple to the American people."

Fitz turned to Olivia.

"What do you think Livie, are you okay with this."

Olivia took a few moments to ponder.

"Yeah, I'd be okay with that."

Esme jumped up.

"Perfect, people really need to get a feel of your personality and the chemistry you two share, just in time for campaign season."

Olivia nodded and smiled.

"Perfect, so I'll get going," Esme said quickly as she headed out.

Olivia turned to Fitz and smiled.

"I think she wants to fuck you."

"What?"

"Yeah, it's obvious, why else would she be so skittish."

"I guess you're right, I'll fire her before she gets all fatal attraction."

"No, let's watch her, maybe I'm wrong."

She kissed him on the cheek and them lips.

"I gotta go, I have a ton of work I need to do at the lab and a few conference calls I have to be present for, I'll see you around 8 okay."

Fitz groaned, 8pm sounded like far away.

"Okay, I'll see you later."

Olivia kissed him again and headed out.


	59. Chapter 59

Two weeks later.

Morning of Olivia's birthday.

When she woke up Fitz was already dressed and sitting beside her on the bed. She was sore but it felt good, they had pregamed during most of the night before her birthday. She got thoroughly fucked throughout most of the night and she had no idea how she was going to get out of bed and attempt to walk. Her legs felt like jello.

"Happy birthday."

He leaned in a kissed her and rested his forehead against hers, then he peppered kisses over her lips.

She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Thank you, it feels good to be 32."

"You are young, I keep forgetting how young you are."

Olivia gasped and felt her face.

"Do I look old or something."

"No, quite the opposite you look like you've just bathed in the fountain of youth but you also have a wisdom and knowledge of a nonagenarian so..."

She slapped his arm and chuckle.

"Not funny."

"I have your gift baby, do you wanna see it."

"Yes!"

He smiled and kissed her.

"Okay, wait right here."

Fitz got up and left the room. She used the time that he was gone to reply to all the happy birthday text she got from her friends and a while later, she heard barking in the hallway.

"No way," she out loud.

Fitz walked into the bedroom with a tiny golden blonde puppy with thick curly hair and his tiny pink tongue hanging out. He was wearing a doggy diaper.

"Oh my god, you got me a puppy?"

"Yeah, do you not like it? You said you didn't want anything extravagant so you know…"

Olivia ran over to him and took the puppy, forgetting about her painfully sensitive vagina and aching thighs.

"No, no, no, he's adorable, I love him," she cooed.

Olivia kissed him and hugged and then tickled his stomach.

"Oh gosh, I said I wanted a puppy, I had no idea he'd be this cute."

Fitz stood watching her fawn over the puppy, happy with his choice. He'd heard her play around with the idea of a puppy and decided to go out in a limb and get her one.

Olivia looked into his diaper and realized it was a boy. He was well groomed and also had his hair combed upwards in a ridiculous Mohawk.

She started laughing.

"Oh god Fitz, a mohawk, really?"

"What, he told me he wanted a little something on top."

She chuckled.

"The puppy told you that?"

"Yes, with his eyes," Fitz chuckled, "I pimped him out didn't I."

Olivia smiled and kissed her new puppy.

"Did you give him a name?"

"No, I wanted you to name him."

Olivia pondered for a moment.

"Let's name him Maxime, Max for short."

"Maxime, French, hmm- I like it."

Olivia coddled the puppy as if it were a baby and rubbed their noses together.

"He's adorable, thank you."

She leaned up and kissed Fitz.

"He can be our baby until we actually get a baby."

"I like the sound of that," Fitz smiled and rubbed Maxime's stomach.

"He looks like a Maltese but mixed with something else, what is it?" She asked.

"Maltese and Poodle mix."

"Oh okay, is he trained, he's wearing a diaper?"

"Not fully but he's getting there, he's only three and a half months. I hired a dog sitter for him, she'll train him and walk him, take him to the groomer and stuff, so you don't have to worry about that, he has his shots and everything."

"Perfect."

Olivia hugged Maxime again.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Olivia pouted.

"Aww, I'm gonna have to leave him and go to the lab but take a picture of us, I'm gonna send it to my friends."

She walked over to the bed and grabbed her phone then handed it to Fitz. She posed with Maxime and waited as he snapped the picture. She took her phone and checked the picture to make sure it came out alright then she rested Maxime on the floor and he ran around barking and exploring his new surroundings.

"He's a rescue dog, they found him abandoned in a cardboard box in an alley, he almost starved but he is all better and he has a great new family now."

She kissed him.

"I'm pretty sure he'll fit right in around here. I'm gonna go shower really quickly, I have a few people I need to interview today and also did I mention that MIT wants me to host a monthly lecture beginning in the spring semester, we're still in talks right now but you know, just a heads up, I'll be home by 7, I think. Also remember in two days I'm going to the think tank retreat in Massachusetts with all those other scientists, I'll be gone for three days, I know you like to pretend I didn't tell you these things."

"I know, I remember but you remember we have the interview tomorrow right, you didn't forget, we've been practicing for two weeks?"

"Fitz."

"Oh yeah, you can't forget, sorry," he said with chuckle.

"No worries," she said as she kissed him, "I'll be right back, let me just shower and get ready, do you have to go to the oval now?"

"No, I'm gonna wait for you."

"Okay perfect."

She stumbled off to the bathroom and showered and brushed her teeth. Once she was done, she headed to closet. She straightened her hair, pin straight, and then skimmed through her closet till she found a white a-line Brandon Maxwell dress that stopped just above her knees. It had long sheer sleeves with a structured silhouette, it was a beautiful dress. She paired it with white louboutin pumps and her grey saint Laurent sac de jour bag. Fitz sat in the balcony, playing with Maxime, waiting for her to get ready. Once she was done fixing her makeup she went out to balcony.

"I'm ready, did I take forever?"

"No, you look perfect. I still can't believe you're with me, seriously, you're way too good for me."

"And don't you ever forget it," she said with smile.

He stood up and gave her a peck on the lips.

"Come on, let's drop Maxime off to the trainer and then I can walk you to your car."

He took her hand and walked her down to meet the dogsitter and drop off Max then he walked her to the car out back. Once he helped her in, he stood by the door.

"It's not too late to stay home with me so we can spend all day together you know?"

"I would love too, you know I would but I have a lot to get done."

Fitz sighed.

"Okay, what time Do you think you'll make it back from the lab?"

"I'm not sure, maybe like 8 or 9."

"Earlier you said 7."

"And I followed it up with 'I think' so that way you can't hold me to it."

Fitz chuckled and shook his head.

"Very smart, okay, I'll have something special for you when you get home. Hint: chef Gustav."

Olivia's face lit up.

"Really, now I'm excited and by the way, you better be naked when I get home, like seriously, your dick needs to be out. Maybe cover yourself in whipcream and strawberries or something, I'm gonna dig in."

Fitz chuckled.

"You got it."

He kissed her.

"Happy birthday baby, I love you and I'll see you later."

"I love you too baby, bye."

He kissed her one last time and then closed the door and watched as the armored car pulled off and then he headed back to the oval.

When Olivia got to the lab, five of her lab assistants were already there and began working. She had quite a few more personnel to hire but so far she felt like things were moving along nicely, she already had a bigger staff than she was used to. She mostly worked by herself and even then she got through her work quickly so she was excited about having assistance.

She greeted them, quickly grabbed her lab coat from the supply room and then went out to meet her team. By the time she returned, she found them all huddled by the table with a birthday cake.

"Happy birthday!" They cheered.

Olivia smiled.

"Thank you guys, you didn't have to but since you did let's all dig in."

They took some time eating cake and lounging before they all got back to work.

Around mid afternoon, there was a beep on the intercom coming from the lobby of the facility.

"Dr. Pope you have a guest."

Olivia assumed it was one of the many people she'd been interviewing all day, she walked over and spoke into the intercom.

"Send them up, thank you."

She went back to her table to finished noting her observations when the lab door buzzed. One of her assistants went to open the door, Olivia was so caught up with her work that it was only when she heard a familiar French accent that realized who it was.

"Bonjour mon Cherie, happy birthday."

She looked up and stared at Daniel wide eyed, shocked that he was there.

"Hello Daniel, um… what are you doing here?"

"I came to see you, it is your birthday it is not."

Olivia looked around at all her assistants staring.

"Hey, do you guys wanna go out for a lunch or something?"

"Uhm, yeah, sure," they agreed amongst themselves.

Olivia stood waiting for them to take their stuff and head out to lunch so she could figure out why Daniel decided to show up at her lab out of the blue. He had roses and a Chopard gift bag hanging off his arm. He handed them to her but she didn't take them.

"I can't take those Daniel."

"Why not, it's just a gift."

Olivia shrugged.

"Daniel what are you doing here."

He walked closer and stopped by her table.

"This is a nice facility you have, are you working on something new?"

"Yeah but that's besides the point, why are you here?" she was trying not to be rude.

He looked down at the ring on her finger.

"I must say that when I heard you and the president were an 'item' it came as a surprise, I was surprised even more so when I heard reports that you are betrothed to him because you were never one to be taken with the idea of marriage."

"Things change when you find the right person."

"So, it's true?"

"Yeah, it's true, we're engaged."

Daniel sighed in disappointment.

"I have begged you, for years to marry me, I have professed my love for you countless times, I can buy you anything you want, how was I not the right person. I loved you."

"No, you loved having sex with me, in fact, you were obsessed which is why we had to stop. We were never in a relationship so don't be so dramatic about it, we were friends who had sex with each other until you couldn't handle it anymore."

"I did love you and I'm sorry if my love for you made me never want to leave your side, I have always loved you, if you would just give me another chance."

"I'm your friend. Whatever happened between us is in the past so let it stay there. You should move on, I have, I'm in love with the man I'm going to marry and nothing you say or do today will change that. I value our friendship so I think it would be best if you leave before anything irreparable is said or done."

"My love-"

"Daniel, I'm not your love, I am engaged to someone else you have to move on, I'm sorry but you do."

"I can't," he said with tears in his eyes, " I love you, just give me another chance, I can make you my baroness."

"Daniel, I don't want to be your baroness, and you need to go, seriously, you gotta go."

"Please-"

Olivia walked over to the door and helped it open.

"I'm sorry Daniel but I'm happy, really, I am and if you love me the way you say you do and if you're my friend the way you say you are then you'll just wish me the best and move on."

He walked over to her by the door.

"I wish you the best."

He held his head low and walked out.

Olivia closed the door and went back to desk. She really didn't want to allow herself to feel bad because there wa no point. Daniel adored her: was an understatement of the century. He was obsessed. He spent millions buying her gifts to prove his affection for her, he wined and dined her, he tried everything in the book to get her to consider him as something more than a friend but it never worked. She had tunnel vision when it came to him, she only ever considered him a friend even when they were having sex. He'd wanted sex every hour of every day. He never forced her, he was never rough. He'd never done anything even remotely close to physically hurting her but Olivia was never one to feel beholden to anyone or anything, no matter how much he spent on her. In the midst of her thinking, she heard the door buzz and Gerry walked in.

"Happy birthday Liv," he said as he dropped his bag and walked over to greet her.

He gave her a hug and handed her a big gift bag.

"I didn't get to see you this morning because you were asleep but I got you something. Dad paid for it of course but technically it's from me."

Olivia smiled.

"Thank you, hey, by the way, we had cake this morning, I saved you a piece."

"Great, thanks, I'm starving."

"It's in the fridge," Olivia called out as she watched Gerry run off to the kitchenette.

She opened her gift bag and pulled out a huge Louis Vuitton shoe box. She opened it and found a pair of knee high black leather heeled boots with an 'LV' buckle at the side.

"Gerry, these are really cute, who knew you had taste."

Gerry laughed from the kitchenette. She made sure food was always in the fridge because Gerry was somehow always starving.

"I don't, Kenna picked them out."

He took his slice of cake, with chips and a bottle of soda and walked over to Olivia.

"So what are we working on today?"

"I'm mostly analyzing our findings so far, it's a light day today, when Sarah and the rest of the team come back you can probably help them run the calculations for the nanomites."

"Okay, gotcha."

Later in the night.

When Olivia walked into the bedroom, it was a little after 9:30pm. He was out on the balcony, with his jacket off, staring out at the view. She dropped her gift and purse on the carpet. She saw Maxime asleep in his doggy bed by the couch. She kicked off her heels and quietly snuck up behind him and wrapped her arms around him. He didn't seem surprised or excited to see her.

"What, aren't you excited to see me?" She teased.

She looked over at the table in the balcony, it was set, the plates were covered and it smelled delicious. There was a bottle of Bordeaux.

"This smells great and we're outside so that's saying something."

Fitz turned around, she could see he was mad.

"What was Daniel Benancourt doing at your lab today, he showed up with flowers and a gift, what was he doing there?"

"He just showed up, I didn't know he was coming."

"You didn't know Liv, you expect me to believe that?"

Olivia stepped back.

"Uh what's going on right now, uhm is this like uh- like an argument?"

"It's not an argument, I'm just asking you a question?"

Olivia smiled knowing the answer was going to further his rage, she never really got to see him angry, at least not at her so she was fascinated whenever it happened.

"He maybe, might have... wanted us to get back together."

"He what?"

"Yeah, and by the way, I didn't take his gift."

"Is that suppose to make me feel better?"

"I don't know what it's suppose to make you feel but, I mean, he left for Paris so…"

"Yes he did leave for Paris at 7pm and the second he stepped on that plane I put on him on the no-fly list, so he's not coming back.."

"Ugh, you're such a baby."

Fitz chuckled humorlessly

"Your ex showed up at your fucking job, with flowers and a bag full of diamonds, I wanna know what happened. What was so private that you kicked everyone out of the lab so you and you old boyfriend could chat."

"How do you know that?"

"How do you think I know?"

"The agents told you, have they been spying on me?"

"Well duh. Do you think I'm gonna leave you without protection for a second?"

"Well, I guess that not unreasonable."

Truth be told, Olivia found his little fit amusing, she always did and if spying on her protected her from having 'Iran' happen all over again, she was willing to be subject to it. She would take all the protection he was willing to give.

"Don't be cute Olivia, what happened?"

She walked closer to him and stopped, inches away from his face.

"Well he came to my office with a bag full of diamonds and well, you know my motto: 'I'll do anything for some diamonds', so of course when he showed me the diamonds I didn't hesitate to let him bend me over the table and fuck me, it was great, we both had glorious orgasms and notice I didn't say orgasm, I said orgasms, meaning more than one-"

"-I know what it means," he interjected. He was annoyed he wasn't taking him seriously.

"After the great sex, I threw off my engagement ring and I let him take me back to Paris, we got married and right now as I stand before you, I'm pregnant with his child. We wanted to wait until birth to find out the sex, we want it to be a surprise."

"That's not funny."

"No, what's not funny is your stupid little tantrum, what did you think happened today Fitz. He came with some sob story about how he wanted to get back together and I told him I was happily engaged and head over heels in love with my idiot fiancé, period; and then I kicked him out with his gifts."

Fitz started smiling and Olivia stormed off to the bedroom, he chased her as he noticed she was storming into the bathroom. He backed her up against the wall and kissed her, everywhere, her neck, face, lips and then got on his knees in front of her. Without a word, he opened her legs and pulled her underwear down.

Olivia tried to fight of a smile. She had him right where she wanted him, groveling and eager to make it up to her, sexually, she knew it was going to be a good night.

Fitz threw one of her legs over his shoulder and buried his face deep between her legs, sucking on every inch of flesh he could find.

"Yes," she moaned as her body shuddered every time she felt his tongue digging into her most tender spot. She grabbed into his hair roughly, just for hell of it. As Fitz continued his onslaught, he could feel the drops of fluid cascading down, she was sure his face was soaked.

In no time, she came and she barely got time to breath before he spun her around and had her posted up against the wall with her ass poked out. He quickly unzipped her dress and pulled it down then pulled down his pants and freed himself. He rubbed the curve of his tip up and down her opening tantalizing before he actually entered her. Olivia gasped silently as he wrapped his arms around her tightly like a coiled snake.

He went fast but not hard, Olivia wanted hard.

"Fuck me harder baby," she whispered.

Fitz went harder, the sound of their skin smacking together echoed throughout the room but it still wasn't hard enough for Olivia because she could tell he was still being careful.

"Harder!"

Fitz stepped back.

"What, don't stop."

"Get on your knees and bend over for me."

Olivia pouted but when she turned around to bend over, she couldn't help but smile, she was excited about what was to come. He stepped out of his pants and pulled off his shirt and tie and then kneeled behind her. Olivia took her time playing with herself as she waited for him but then she felt him move her fingers from her clit and pin both her hands behind her back then he enter her. He threw her body forward with the force of every thrust until they were both practically wailing except there were no tears, just cries of ecstasy.

"Oh god right there, right there, right there, baby I'm gonna cum, right there," she chanted in a hushed tone.

"Cum for me birthday girl."

She felt a sharp jolt and cried out, both their orgasms had taken them.

Fitz pulled out immediately after and fell back on the floor, spread eagle trying to catch his breath. Olivia was curled up into a ball, breathing heavily.

Once Olivia felt a little strength return to her limbs, she rolled over and climbed into his legs and leaned over and held his full length in her hand and sucked up and down his shaft in the most delicious way, tenderly, because she knew he sensitive.

"Fuck," he groaned.

As smiled and licked his length once more before she got on all fours and crawled to the bathroom that was only a couple feet away. Fitz leaned up and watched her ass as she crawled further and further away and once she was in the bathroom he got up as well and walked over to her.

"Are you still mad at me?"

"100% yes!"

"I think I did a pretty good job of making it up to you just now."

"Not good enough."

Fitz chuckled.

"You want more? You can't even walk?"

"Don't worry about me and my legs."

That was it, she could hold back anymore, she held her stomach and laugh at herself but also at Fitz.

"Wait," Fitz said in confusion, "so you weren't mad me."

"No, I was just fucking with you."

"Good fucking joke Olivia, good fucking joke."

He walked forward and picked up and threw her over his shoulder, then he went to turn of the faucet.

He gently rested her into the tub and then got in after her. They laid together as the droplets of water from the shower head beat against their skin until they finally both found the resolve to bath and get out.

Once they were out, Olivia threw on her towel robe and wrapped another towel over her wet hair, so did Fitz and then they headed back out to the balcony. Olivia plopped down on the couch and waited for Fitz to get behind her then she leaned into his side, utterly exhausted. Fitz stretched over to the little coffee table in front of them and removed the cover from the now cold food.

"Dig in."

Olivia smiled and reached over a grabbed plate and fork, so did Fitz. Olivia took a bit of the first piece of her chicken and moaned in delight.

"You need to stop worrying about Daniel and start worrying about Gustav because any man who cooks like this, I'm willing to marry."

"Hey!"

"Shut up, after your little tantrum just now, you don't get to be mad."

"You are my woman, no one is going to try to take you away from me, not Daniel, not Gustav, no one, I'm never gonna joke about that and don't act like you don't get all territorial too, remember when we were together in the oval and one of my assistants came in and asked for a moment alone with me and you told her no."

"Why does she need to have a moment alone with you? What the fuck does she need to talk about that so important that you need to be alone."

"Exactly, which is why I was bothered that Daniel was there alone with you."

"Fine."

Fitz chuckled, "ha ha, I guess we know who won this round."

"You didn't win anything, I'm just agreeing with you."

Olivia ate another piece of her chicken.

"What was your relationship with Daniel like?" Fitz asked.

"You asked me this already."

"I know but I'm just trying to figure out why he would think it was okay to come here and try to get you to end your engagement."

"Because he's Daniel and he doesn't give up, much like you, I might add."

"But he never hurt you right?"

"Nope, not at all, I just-"

"Got bored?"

Olivia sat up and faced him.

"I don't know Fitz, why did you leave Mellie, did you get bored of her?"

Fitz realized she was getting upset and that was the last thing he wanted.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that, I don't want you to get upset, it's your birthday, lie down."

"No, I'm not gonna lay down, why did you say that?"

"Why didn't you answer me when I asked?"

"Don't try to turn this on me, is it because of what professor Confessore said."

Fitz sighed.

"Yes, maybe it bothered me a little when he said it."

"Do you feel like I'm getting bored of you or something?"

"I don't know, you've been at the lab for most of the day for the past few weeks which I understand, you do important work but I thought that when your birthday came, we could spend some time together, after everything you did for my birthday, I wanted to make it up to you but you didn't want to spend your birthday with me, you spent the entire day at your lab, maybe I'm just over thinking it."

"Yeah you are, I spent the day at the lab because after working , which I really like to do, I just wanted to come home and spend the night relaxing with my fiance and my new puppy, that's the perfect birthday for me. My friends tried to get me to come to New York for the weekend to party but I told them no I'd rather spend it with you- that's the opposite of being bored with you, just so you know and me and Daniel didn't work out because I didn't love him, just like you and Melie didn't work out because you didn't love her."

She grabbed his face and look him dead in the eye.

"I love you, why can't you get that through your thick skull, I'm not going anywhere and I'm not bored okay, I'm happy."

Fitz smiled.

"Okay, you've proven that I'm a total doofus."

"Yes, you are."

She kissed him on the lips.

"No can we relax and enjoy the rest of my evening please?"

"Yes, we can."


	60. Chapter 60

The next day.

Olivia and Fitz woke up at their usual time and got ready for their day, only now, they had Maxime running around and playing while they did it, it was a welcomed changed. Surprisingly, a little before Olivia left for work, a group of house aides delivered about 50 different gifts to their bedroom. All gifts sent to the White House for Olivia from different designers, brands and a beauty lines, wishing her a happy birthday. She was dumbfounded. She didn't get to go through all the bags but in one bag From Stuart Weitzman, she received two thigh high boots. She found another bag from Chanel with a tweed jacket and matching mini skirt with earrings, a necklace, a pink velvet purse and flats, she didn't even know how they got her size.

Fitz stood watching her go through some of the gifts and then she turned to him.

"Did you do this?"

"No, you told me not to get you anything crazy."

"These people really sent me all of this?"

"Yes but relax, it's mostly because they want you to wear it publicly so other people can see you wearing and wanna buy it."

Olivia's mouth fell open and curved into a smile.

"I'm totally okay with that, oh my god, this is a lot of stuff."

She heaped all the bags in one corner of the huge bedroom.

"I'll look through them later. Is it possible to get one of the aides to help me with the thank you cards, I can't possibly do all of these."

"Yeah, sure, I'll have Lauren send one of them over during the days and she can begin."

"Thank you," Olivia said with a smile.

They left shortly after.

She promised him she'd be back from the lab by 3pm so they could prep for their first interview together.

She was beyond nervous for their interview and when she walked into residence a little after 3:15 in the afternoon, she immediately went to find Maxime because on her way home, she stopped at the dog store to buy him some accessories and she couldn't wait to see how they would look on him. She found him in the Kennedy garden with his sitter, Molly.

"Hey Maxime, mommy's home."

She walked over to him and picked him up and spun him around like you would a child. He barked delightfully, he was still getting used to her as she was getting used to him.

Olivia stooped to the ground and pulled out his new, blue, personalized jeweled collar she got from the store. She clasped it around his neck and picked him up.

"So cute. Do you like it Molly?"

"Yes, it's adorable," Molly said with a smile.

Moments later, Fitz's chief of staff Esme, walked down the corridor towards them.

"Olivia, sorry to bother you but hair and makeup wanted to know if you wanted to get touch ups for the interview."

"Yeah, where are they?"

"Their in the powder room."

"Okay, I'll be there in a sec."

Olivia was going to give Max back to Molly but decided to bring him. As she followed Esme to the powder room, Olivia decided to pry.

"So Esme, how are you liking the new gig?"

"I love it, I'm doing real work in great administration."

"How does your family feel about you working crazy hours?"

That was Olivia's way of asking if she had a husband.

"Well, my mom and dad watch my kids and they haven't complained yet. I'm divorced so, you know the parents help out."

"Oh, well you have great parents then."

Esme smiled.

"Yes, I'm very thankful."

They reached the powder room, shortly after.

"President Grant will be meeting you shortly."

"Yeah, I know, he texted me."

Esme nodded.

"Of course, I'll be out here getting some things in order, just called if you need me."

Olivia smiled.

"Thanks."

She headed over to hair and makeup and sat in the chair with Max as they did her up. She had in a white Chloe skinny pantsuit, she thought she looked killer so she didn't change it.

Half hour later, Fitz arrived into the Lincoln sit room to meet Olivia.

He quickly walked over and kissed her cheek.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, something came up."

"It's okay."

Hair and makeup quickly gathered around him, fixing his hair, face and suit to make sure he ready for the camera. As he was getting ready, their interviewer arrived. Megan Martin, a log time nightly news host.

"Good evening, Mr. President, Dr. Pope. Thank you so much for allowing us to conduct your first interview as a couple."

Fitz walked over and shook Megan's hand, so did Olivia.

"Thanks for having us."

Fitz and Olivia sat down on the couch, Megan sat on the chair opposite from them.

"Okay, Megan, recording in three- two- one."

He gave her a silent cue and almost instantly Maxime ran through the opened door with Molly chasing him. He made a beeline towards Olivia, barking as he went. Molly froze when Maxime reached her feet and she picked him.

"Maxime, how did you get in here?" She said as she rubbed his back.

"I'm sorry," Molly said, "he ran off searching or you and I wasn't quick enough to catch him."

Molly saw everyone except for Fitz and Olivia staring at her as if she had 10 heads.

"It's okay, we're not live," Megan said, "we can edit it out."

Fitz saw the blinged out collar around Maxime's neck and immediately started laughing.

"Olivia what is he wearing?"

Olivia chuckled.

"That's his bling."

"You're putting girl jewelry on a boy dog, you're gonna give him self esteem issues."

"Leave him alone, he's handsome and you're just jealous, you wish you were as icy as him, isn't that right Maxime," Olivia said to Max.

Fitz laughed.

"What does icy even mean?"

"I heard it in a song somewhere, it means you're really cool."

Megan turned to her crew, "are you getting this," she mouthed.

Her chief producer nodded.

Molly ran over and took Max then left the room quickly.

"Sorry about that," Fitz said to Megan.

"No worries, Mr. President, no worries."

Megan adjusted herself to begin again.

"Can I first ask you the question that's been on everyone's mind for the past, actually more than a month, I think it's obvious given the ring on your finger but I have to ask, are you two engaged?"

Fitz looked to Olivia and waited for her to answer, "yes we are," she said.

"Congratulations to you both."

"Thank you," they said in unison.

Olivia and Fitz watched Cyrus sneak into the room and stand beside Esme.

"How did he pop the question?"

"He flew me up to Nova Scotia to watch the northern lights and he proposed, that's the simple version, if I were to go into detail, I'd never shut up because it was just the most romantic thing I've ever experienced, in life."

Fitz chuckled.

"Look at him, he's totally congratulating himself right now, the thing about him is, he's not very subtle," Olivia said playfully.

Megan chuckled.

"I am subtle… Sometimes."

Olivia laughed.

"When's the wedding?" Megan asked.

"Whenever Olivia says it is," Fitz said with a chuckle.

"Yes, I wield all the power," she said playfully.

"Can you describe your first encounter with the president, when you first met?"

"Our first encounter and when we actually met are in two separate occasions so I suppose I'll describe both."

Megan nodded.

"I was visiting James Madison hospital to help a friend of mine perform a difficult surgery on a patient. As I was getting ready to leave, (thankfully because I had gone just around 25 hours without sleep) one of the nurses ran up to me, she was frantic, she said they had a 45 years old male, suffering from three gunshot wounds, he was two minutes away. Initially I thought it was weird that they wanted my help for what I would consider a regular ER case, gunshot wounds aren't uncommon in the ER and after all, I technically didn't work at that hospital and I'm a neurosurgeon, not a trauma specialist, regardless, I ran to go get my surgical apron and wash my hands to prepare for whatever surgery I needed to perform. As I was heading to the operation room I bumped into my friend and I asked him: why do you need me for this, I felt like gunshot wounds were his specialty, you know, he could operate on it in his sleep and he said 'the patient is the president and he has a bullet in his head, we need you'. Moments later, the paramedics burst into operation room frantically, carrying Fitz on a stretcher and he's a bloodied and his blood pressure is really low, his chest cavity is filled with blood, he's going into hypovolemic shock from all the blood loss and then he flatlined seconds later from in front of me."

"Wow," Megan said slightly dumbfounded, "what did you do."

"Well he brought him back and I immediately removed the bullet and small bone fragments my from his head wound, which was a priority because I wanted to contain swelling and preserve brain function then I went to work on his chest wounds. It was a long night for him but he fought through it and I mean he's strong, I don't think people know how strong he is, how hard it is to come back from an assault of that magnitude but he did. Two weeks later he woke up from his coma and I guess that brings us to the first time he met me. I'd been periodically checking on him because I expected him to be awake within the day, it was just before noon when I did my third check on him, I found him laying in bed quietly and I asked him why he didn't call a nurse when he woke up and he said: 'I just woke up from the best sleep I've gotten in 20 years, I just wanted to take a while to enjoy it.' And well yes, that was our first meeting."

"Wow, so I mean I guess, my next question is: a few months ago, when your relationship first became public, ex-First Lady Mellie Grant did an interview where she made some pretty explosive and I might also add; unproven claims, among those she said you would ask her to leave the room whenever you ran test on the president and she felt like you used that time to take advantage of the president. First can I ask you how you felt when you heard that interview and what is your response to her claim?"

Olivia smile and shook her head.

"It definitely hurt, I mean I didn't know her well enough to expect her to speak about me in glowing terms but I also didn't know her well enough to expect her to slander me. Honestly, we never asked her to leave the room, she was just never there, I don't say that maliciously, she just wasn't there, she didn't ask to be present for any of the test or exercises we did and I wasn't the only doctor that ran test, she might have been present for those but as far as I'm concerned she was never present at the hospital for any test I ran."

"So do you think she lied?"

"I don't want to defame anyone national television, I'm just stating what I know to be true, she might have felt left out, I don't know that but I'm just saying I've never asked her to leave the room."

"Mr. President, what was the nature of your relationship with Dr. Pope when you left the hospital."

"She was like my personal webmd."

Olivia chuckled.

"If anything strange happened, I'd call her and ask her what the heck was going on with my body, whether is was a headache or weird chest pains, at one point Gerry got a concussion and because she was in D.C. she visited the white house and gave him a check up, wrote him a slip so he didn't have to do homework, which he loved."

"What is your relationship with Gerry like?" Megan directed to Olivia, "after his back injury earlier this year, I'd assume it's good."

"Oh Gerry's the best. He's such a great kid. We have a great relationship, after his surgery earlier this year he became interested in science, especially in my field of science and so now he helps out at my lab after school. I keep our break room fridge fully stocked because just like me, he knows how to eat."

Fitz laughed, "yes and if you look at both of them, they're absolute sticks, I don't know where the food goes."

"I can relate, my teenage son swallows food whole I think, sometimes I don't see him chew," Megan laughed and then brought to topic back to their relationship, "mr. President, you filed for divorce, late October, did Dr. Pope have anything to do with that?"

"No, Megan, Mellie and I had been going over our options for months before, Dr. Pope and I were not in a romantic relationship at the time of my divorce. I want to make that clear, we don't appreciate anyone suggesting otherwise."

It was a lie Fitz had to tell, he didn't want anyone going after Olivia's character.

"When did your relationship with Dr. Pope become for than platonic, actually no, can I first ask you how or maybe what was going through your mind when you heard the village that Dr. Pope was stationed at had been attacked, many doctors were killed but she was taken?"

Fitz looked to Olivia briefly, she seemed okay. They'd been prepping for questions like that for two weeks and they agreed not to go into detail. Fitz would vaguely answer the basic questions and if they wanted details they'd deflect.

"To put it lightly, I was shocked, and that doesn't happen often."

"Dr. Pope, since your return, you haven't made any public comments about your return home. No one knows what happened except that when you returned to the states, you were kept in the hospital for over a week in critical condition. We know that almost a month later, you attempted suicide, obviously you went through a very hard time. Can you tell us what happened to you?"

"No."

Megan was slightly taken aback by Olivia's plain 'no' but she shook it off and moved on but before she could form her next question, Olivia began speaking again.

"Uhm," she began softly, "I-"

Fitz leaned in, not caring if the cameras were recording, "you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," he whispered in her ear.

"I know," she said softly in response.

She turned back to Megan, she pondered for a few seconds, wondering if she was making the right choice but she was tired of running from it, they would only keep asking.

"I was kidnapped, starved, tortured, I also got beat up quite a few times by people who thought that they could force me to help them commit atrocities because I was smart and I knew how to build things. I refused and you can imagine how happy they were about that. I almost died, luckily I didn't, thanks to this brilliant man right here and some really brave soldiers who took on a lot of really bad guys just to save my life. When I got back, I had a really hard time adjusting and at my lowest point I did try to take my own life, I'm not proud about and I have gotten help since then. It doesn't help when you try to throw gotcha questions at me about a really difficult chapter of my life or try to make a headline out of it. I'm a real person, with real feelings, so is he," she pointed a thumb at Fitz, "and I just hope that now that I've sort of laid everything out there, people won't care so much about it and reporters can stop staking out at my lab everyday, asking me the same question that you asked me just now."

Megan cleared her throat, she couldn't possibly respond to Olivia in anything even close to astute.

"Well, thank you both for taking the time to speak with me today."

"Our pleasure," Fitz said with a smile.

The producer signaled that the cameras were off and Fitz and Olivia stood up. Megan took a few steps forward and stopped in front of them.

"I'm really sorry, if you felt like I threw a gotcha question at you, you're right, sometimes as journalist we get so caught up in trying to chase the story that we forget that real people are behind them, I meant no harm."

Olivia nodded and shook Megan's hand.

"Thank you, I really appreciate your apology."

Megan nodded and bid them goodbye, moments later her and the camera crew was gone.

Fitz wrapped his arms around Olivia's waist and lifted her in the air.

"I am so proud of you, that took a lot of courage" he said as he kissed her softly on the lips.

"I don't know what came over me, I was just so tired of them always throwing what happened in my face that I just wanted to lay it all out there so there can stop asking me, which I know they still will but at least now they can stop speculating."

Cyrus and Esme had made their way over, before they could start conversing, Fitz stopped them.

"I'm sorry, we're gonna run, I'll see you in a little bit."

Fitz took Olivia's arm and they hurried out.

Cyrus chuckled and shook his head.

"Why do they keep doing that?" Esme asked, it wasn't the first time Fitz and Olivia ran out on her.

"Hopefully, you'll never have to find out," Cyrus said with a smile, "come on, you have work to do. The Italian prime minister is coming in a few days."

Later in the night, as Olivia and Fitz laid in bed waiting for the interview to air, Olivia's phone chimed signaling she got an email. She grabbed her phone and opened the email, she read through the content and then smiled.

"What's going on?" Fitz asked.

"Clay Math Institute just announced the I correctly solved all the millennium problem I submitted, they published the answers online and they nominated me for a Nobel physics prize."

"Seriously?"

"Yes," she said with a chuckle, "it's right here in the email. They wanted to give me a heads up, they're doing a press release tomorrow."

Fitz took the phone and read through the email.

"And they're also awarding you six million dollars for all six problems, wow, congratulations. By the way, if this wasn't obvious, can I be your date to the awards ceremony?"

"Of course, who else would I bring?"

"I don't know, chef Gustav or your best friend Daniel."

She slapped his arm.

"I might have to bring one of them if you don't act right."

Fitz gasped as if he was hurt by her words then he chuckled and dug his face into her neck. Olivia laughed and squealed when she felt his fingers roaming up her side, tickling her. As they fooled around in bed, they heard the nightly news jingle, signaling the start of the interview. Olivia was pleasantly surprised that they kept the bit in where Maxime ran into the room, now that she watched her and Fitz banter on TV, she thought it was hilarious. They watched the entire interview and then sat listening to the pundits talk about it afterwards.

"So what are your thoughts on the interview?" Megan asked one of the guests.

"I- I think they're a beautiful couple but obviously the breaking news here is what Dr. Pope said, I mean that was just explosive and I don't think anyone was expecting that, I mean just think about it, that entire exchange, I mean she was kidnapped because someone wanted to force her to help them commit atrocities, I don't know about you but I wanna to know more and I mean the other explosive thing she said was that she didn't help them, that makes her a patriot-"

"How do you know she's telling the truth," another man interjected.

"She's sitting beside the president of the United States, and also who lies about something like that, now is not the time to be a partisan hack because your angry president Grant is running as an independent for elections next year now is the time to be a patriot, I think she's an American hero."

"Please, you don't know enough about what happened to say that."

Another guest began, "can I jump in for a little here guys," she said, "I think you guys are missing the entire point of Dr. Pope's revelation, I agree with you that she's telling the truth but I also think she said it because she wanted closure, it seemed like a necessary catharsis. She obviously wants to stop being badgered by the media about what happened, you have conservative pundits out there saying she's mentally unstable and not fit to be First Lady because of a past suicide attempt that I might add was a gross invasion of privacy to have been reported on in the first place. It's just horrid what people say about her for politics just because she's a black woman who's young and smart and beautiful and so happened to be engaged to a rich white president, they can't handle that. All I'm saying is probably wants to put this behind her. I think we should too."

"How can we put this behind us, we're talking about an American scientist being kidnapped by terrorists and tortured to help them do God knows what, that American is about to be our future First Lady, that is a big story and by the way, I'm wondering what president Grant did about this, I don't imagine he took this lightly."

"Yes and the bigger story here is that she resisted, she didn't help them. That makes her a hero, I mean, she came back in bad shape, you wanna talk about men being heroes, let's talk about her. This tiny, 100 pound woman resisting torture for almost three months, that's strength."

"I agree with you there, and you know, she is brilliant, she studied everything from thermonuclear astrophysics to mechanics to chemistry, who knows what she could've helped them build or what they wanted her to build for that matter, I think there's a lot more to be learned."

Megan jumped in, "yes and I also wanted to add, you know separate from the big story here, you know, I mean, I guess this is a big story as well, it's just so much breaking news tonight, we have to pace ourselves, the whole reason for the interview was so that people could get a look at them as a couple and you know being in the room with them, you can feel the intimacy between them, it's electric and that is in stark contrast to his previous relationship with Mellie Grant, I've interviewed them as a couple as well and I can say that I didn't experience that side of them and I'm also anxious to see what Mellie Grant has to say after this anyways, stick around, more of the breaking news when we get back."

Olivia heard Max barking at the side of her bed and leaned over and picked him up.

"Hey buddy, I thought you were asleep."

She took the remote and changed the channel to cartoons and watched as he got comfortable on her lab and watched tv.

"So, after everything we just heard, how are you feeling?"

"Not much different, I thought it'd be much worse."

"They are right, you are a hero," Fitz smiled, "can I give you a hero medal?"

"No," she said with a chuckle.

He was glad they were at a place where Olivia could be so open with him, he was sure he had Savannah to thank for it.

"I have to ask, why did you say it?"

"I've been talking with Savannah, especially after I found out you saw the tapes and I was basically complaining about how humiliated I was."

"You shouldn't be, you didn't do anything wrong, all I saw was a really strong woman standing up for what she thought was right."

Olivia smiled.

"Savannah said the same thing and I don't feel that way anymore. I think I'd was more terrified of people seeing it than people just knowing about it, you know. Like with you, if I had told you about it, I don't think you would have imagined it was that bad, no matter what I said, so with the tapes being gone and no one being able to see it, I guess I'm just more at peace, I know with what I said journalists might go digging to try and find out more but nothing they find will be worse than what they would have seen on that tape. I know they'll talk about it on tv for a few days but I think by the end of the year, it'll be history."

Fitz kissed her temple.

"I really love you know that right."

Fitz chuckled,

"I love you too."

They laid together talking and watching cartoons with Max until they both fell asleep.

A/N- Okay so don't kill me. I really wanted Olivia to control how her story came out, I didn't want her to be blindsided, I wanted her to be ready for it and by revealing it herself, she shows just that. Enjoy the next chapter of this double upload but before you do that let me know your thoughts below.


	61. Chapter 61

A/N- Hi everyone, moving it forward a little with this one. Hope you guys enjoy and then let me know your thoughts afterwards.

Two months later.

It was the end of November. In the two months since their interview it had been crazy but not necessarily in a bad way. One major story broke from the New York Times about the circumstances around Olivia's kidnapping, it really only revealed what she'd already said which was: she was taken and force to help terrorist but she refused, only now it had details about how they wanted to attack New York and how many people they wanted to kill but couldn't because Olivia refused to help and it also included her father's involvement but to a lesser extent than what actually happened. She was a little numb to the article because she was preparing for it (they gave her a heads up that it was coming out and she asked them to exclude some details she wasn't comfortable with, which they did as a courtesy) and also because she was the one who originally spoke out about it in the first place, once the immediate excitement died down, people moved on but that didn't mean she didn't become a complete rockstar in the process. People were clamoring over her. Whenever she attended events, people gathered outside and wait until she arrived or departed, to take pictures of her and cheer. Little boys and girls, even grown men and women would stop her and ask for her autograph or tell her how much she was their hero and they wanted to be just like her.

In mid November they announced the winners of the nobel awards, Olivia won a nobel prize for Physics for her completion of the millennium equations and in a move that surprised her, she won the Nobel peace award for outstanding courage, altruism and for advancement in medicine. In the midst of her crazy schedule, she managed to find time to attend Marisa (a former patient of hers) gymnastics world championship trial. She sat with Marisa's parents in the crowd and watched Marisa dedicate her 1st place medal to her for operating on her pro bono and bringing back her sight.

She was busy, busiest she'd ever been. In the past month, she had barely been at the white house, partly because she decided to commit herself to a few surgeries every month, she felt like she was ready to take on that part of her life again and also because she'd been doing a lot of work at the lab. She now had a staff of 15 scientists and 2 assistants and they were moving full steam ahead with their agenda.

Fitz was doing well, he was getting ready to go into campaign mode in mid December. He was still working on his policy agenda and tackling all his daily presidential tasks while maintaining the world order.

In between both their crazy schedules, they were planning a wedding with the help of their wedding planner David. The American royal wedding, is what they'd been referring to it as in the news. As busy as she was, she always made time for him, even if that meant that she had to sneak into the building at the U.N. Headquarters and pull him into the bathroom for a quickie while his agents stood guard outside.

It was the first day off Olivia had in about 7 weeks and she only took off because she had to remove her birth control IUD. When she woke up that morning, Fitz was still asleep which was odd. She checked the time, it was after 8. She sat up and nudged him.

"Fitz," she said as she tugged him, "Fitz wake up."

She shook him a little more until he finally shuffled and woke up to Max's loud barking.

"Baby, what's going on?"

"You're late, it's 8 in the morning."

"What?"

He reached over and checked his watch.

"Dammit, I muted my wake up call."

He jumped up really quickly and stumbled slightly as he got off the bed.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

He quickly headed to bathroom and closed the door.

She waited for a half hour and when he still didn't come out so she got up and knocked on the door. When he didn't answer she decided to go in.

"Fitz, I'm coming in."

She turned the knob and was happy he didn't lock it. When she walked in, she found him sitting on the chair, he looked clammy and pale. She walked over to him quickly and kneeled beside him.

"Fitz, sweetie, what's goin on?"

She rested her palm against his cheek, then forehead and then his neck.

"You're burning up, did you get your flu shot like I told you?"

"What flu shot?"

"You're over 100 degrees, maybe 101."

She went over to the tub and pulled the stopper then turned on the faucet. She filled the tub with water and then went back over to Fitz.

"Okay babe, talk to me, are your muscles hurting?"

Fitz nodded and dry coughed.

"Where?"

"Chest."

"Anywhere else?"

"Head, I have a headache."

"Okay, well you need a nice warm bath, stand up, it'll cool you down."

Fitz stood up slowly. She untied his robe and helped him undress then into the tub.

"That's nice," he said softly as he leaned back in the warm water.

She went into the cabinet and gabbed a bottle of eucalyptus oil and poured some into the water then she sat beside the tub. She took a bath sponge and ran it all over his chest and shoulders.

"You have the flu," she said as ran the sponge over his hair.

She didn't keep him in for too long, after a while she helped him out, wrapped him in his robe and helped him into their bed.

"How do you feel?" She asked.

"Better."

"Okay, I'm gonna go find the White House doctor so she can give you some medicine and I'll call Cy and Esme to let them know you have the flu and won't be coming in today."

She kissed his hair.

"I'll be right back."

Olivia threw on her robe quickly and headed out to the doctor's office to let the doctor know what was going on, the doctor assured she'd be there soon with all the supplies and then on her way back she called Cy to let him know what was going on with Fitz. She stopped by the kitchen to ask the chef to make him chicken soup and moments after she arrived in the bedroom, the doctor came in. She went to shower while the doctor took care of Fitz and then she quickly went to the closet to get dressed. She threw on some dark grey skinny jeans and a black v-neck t shirt. She pulled on her black Stuart Weitzman thigh highs and black suede biker jacket. She tied her hair into a messy bun and then went back out to meet Fitz and the doctor.

"What did you give him?"

" I gave him antihistamines and antipyretic."

Olivia walked over and sat on the bed next to Fitz.

"Also give him pseudoephedrine and analgesic he's been feeling slight pain in his chest."

"Okay, I'll give him a dose," the doctor replied.

Olivia leaned over and kissed him on his forehead.

"I have to run to my appointment but once I get back I'll take over from Dr. Foster."

"What appointment?"

"My IUD removal appointment, you know, the one you haven't been able to shut up about for the past two weeks."

Fitz smiled.

"Oh yeah."

She chuckled, "I told you, you should have gotten your flu shot," she leaned in, "if she gets handsy with you, tell me," she whispered.

Fitz laughed weakly, "I will."

She kissed him again and ran her hands through his hair.

"Okay baby, I'll be back soon, get some rest and don't let Cyrus try to get you to work, I already warned him."

Fitz nodded.

"Okay."

Olivia left and quickly went to her doctor's office. She entered through the back to the office and waited in a private room separate from everyone else. She didn't wait very long, a few minutes after she took a seat, the doctor came.

"Liv, hi, sorry about the wait."

"It's okay dr. Connor."

"Okay. Come on back, follow me."

Olivia pick up her purse and followed her doctor to the room. She really wanted to be in and out, she sorted all the details out before. Her doctor took her to the room and left her to get undressed. She quickly removed her clothes and put in her gown and then called her doctor.

Dr. Connor asked a few questions before she went ahead and removed her IUD. She took care of a few more things before she left. She had no need to really sit and chat because she knew pretty much what would happen from then on and she also wanted to get back to check on Fitz.

On her way back to White House, she called her one of assistants and asked him to clear her schedule for the next two days. By the time she got back to the white house and walked into the bedroom, she saw Cyrus sitting by Fitz's bed with paperwork.

"Woah, woah, woah,I said no work," she said as she ran over.

"Liv, he's the president, he just needs to go over some things."

"No, no, no, he has the freaking flu Cyrus, leave him alone."

She took the papers from Fitz and handed them to Cyrus.

"You're the vice- president, I'm sure you can handle it. He needs rest."

Cyrus sighed and got up, "please Liv, just one more thing he has to sign before I can go ahead with it?"

"Is someone's life in danger?"

"No."

"Okay then, bounce."

Cyrus shook his head.

"Fine."

"Dr. Foster, I can take it from here."

The doctor nodded and left the station she'd set up with medicine and tools to Olivia.

Once the doctor left, Olivia took of her jacket and boots and threw them on the floor and sat beside him in the bed. She rested the back of her palm against his forehead.

"You're still really hot."

"How did your appointment go?"

"Perfect, it's out, I can get pregnant now, I'm probably gonna have a little bleeding for a few days but it works out perfectly because you're sick so you won't have the energy to jump my tail right now."

"Don't be so sure," Fitz smiled, "thank you."

"Yes, well, I did this for both of us, I want to start a family just as much as you. What you should be thanking me for is the fact that I cancelled my massage, facial and laser treatment for you."

Fitz chuckled.

"How was the chicken soup?" She said as she looked at the half eaten bowl of soup.

"Good, I wasn't very hungry."

"You need to eat, well drink, can't afford to get dehydrated."

"I know, dr. Foster said the same thing."

"She didn't touch you inappropriately did she?"

"No, not everyone is trying to have sex with me you know."

"You don't know that," she said in a matter of fact fashion, "let me change into something comfortable, I'm pretty sure I'll be having cramps soon."

Fitz nodded.

Olivia got up and went to change, by the time she came back, Fitz was fast asleep and snoring.

She grabbed her laptop and got in bed beside him, she took ibuprofen for her cramps and continued working on the guestlist for the wedding, she usually did it with Fitz but she'd already spoken to him and they'd pretty much agreed on everything she just needed to put it in writing and send it to David.

In the week that Fitz suffered from the flu, Olivia stayed home and took care of him and worked from home while she did. By day seven he was feeling well enough to go back to work.

That morning, when they woke up, they did their usual routine of getting ready together. As they stood in the closet getting dressed, Fitz held up two ties.

"Which one?"

Olivia placed her finger on her lip and pondered for a moment.

"The teal."

He handed her the teal tie and waited for her to tie it around his neck.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

"No, not for the tie, for taking care of me for the past few days."

Olivia smiled.

"Well then you are very welcome, I think the lesson to be learned from this is that the next time your fiancée who is also a doctor tells you to go and get your flu shot, you should probably listen."

Fitz laughed.

"I definitely hear that."

"By the way, since you're feeling better and you can actually converse with me, David is coming by around 7 later for dinner, he needs to discuss some stuff with us in person."

"Okay."

Olivia continued getting dressed and fixed her hair and makeup.

"Any more cramps or bleeding?"

"No, it stopped last week you were too busy sneezing in my face to notice."

He chuckled.

"I'm really sorry about that by the way and it was only one time."

"Yes but it should've been only zero times, my mouth was open Fitz."

He pointed and laughed.

"I'm sorry but you have to admit that was really funny, the look on your face was priceless, I thought you were gonna kill me, I'm surprised you didn't get sick from that."

"Yes, well, apparently my flu shot is working better than I expected."

He nodded and then got quiet, she could tell he was thinking about something.

She smiled, "what's going on in that head of yours."

"Oh nothing, it's just that the next time we have sex, you could very well get pregnant."

"I know, isn't it exciting."

Fitz smiled.

"So you aren't nervous?"

"Of course I am," she said with a smile.

Fitz walked over to her, stood behind her and wrapped his arms around.

"Me too and I've already had a kid so I can imagine how much worse it is for you."

Olivia turned and faced him.

"What's it like, being a parent?"

"It's terrifying but also amazing. You worry about your child all day, what's they're doing and where they are, if they're safe. You have this person who depends on you for everything and in that way it gives you a purpose, you try to fulfill all their needs, it's terrifying if you can't and amazing if you can."

"Kamaya said it's like having your heart living outside of your body."

"Oh definitely, that's apart of what's terrifying, when Gerry broke his back, I felt like I broke my back."

"Really?"

"Yes but it's not all bad, it's way more good than bad, watching them grow and develop their personality and do really disgusting but also cute and funny things. When Gerry was 2 years old, I found him inside the toilet, he was literally just sitting inside the toilet."

Olivia laughed.

"Seriously."

"Yes, I have a picture of it, it still makes me laugh to this day."

"I need to see that."

"It's in my wallet, one sec."

Fitz pulled out his wallet and took a small Polaroid picture of Gerry sitting inside the toilet and laughing from the fold and handed it to Olivia.

"Oh my gosh, this is adorable," she said as she laughed, "he's seen it right?"

"Yes and he hates it, he tried to destroy it."

Olivia handed him the picture and he placed it in his wallet.

They finished getting ready and then headed to the kitchen for breakfast and then went their separate ways.

* * *

Later in the evening, Olivia was a little later getting back from the lab for dinner, when she got to the dining room, Fitz and David were already seated at the table and seemed to be conversing casually.

"I'm so sorry I'm late," she said as gave Fitz a kiss on the cheek.

"It's okay, David and I were just making small talk."

Olivia walked over to David and gave him a hug while Fitz pulled out a chair for her beside him.

"Oh my god, I'm starving," she said as she sat down.

They all lifted the covers from their plates and began eating.

"Okay so, I wanted to meet with you guys today because we really need to make some decisions, the most important hurdle we need to cross is the venue, I know Olivia couldn't decide but we really need to secure it for the date we discussed," David began.

David was a popular event planner, mostly planning celebrity weddings and parties. He was tall with dark skin and a neat goatee, however he wore really long straight hair, down to his waist and behaved in an effeminate manner, leaving no questions about his sexuality.

"Can we go over the options again with pros and cons?" Olivia responded.

"Okay so considering how many people will likely attend: 195 ambassadors, 535 members of congress plus other members of your administration and then heads of state and royalty from all over the world and friends and family, you have celebrities that are quietly asking to be invited so I'd say more than 1,500 people, I know we're working on the guest list right now but it's going to be a big wedding and of course the reception will be much smaller, I still need guidance on who exactly you guys want to be at the reception, I'm aiming to send out invitations by January."

Olivia turned her head to Fitz.

"Do we have to invite everyone from congress, I mean some of them are really mean."

"Yeah, we have to invite them, I don't like half of them either but I can't manage to invite some and not others, it won't be pretty, they'll just be at the wedding, not the reception. He can put the ones we don't like at the back of the church."

Olivia chuckled, "Okay."

"St. Patricks Cathedral in New York, I know you really liked that location but it's in the middle of 5th avenue, the location isn't ideal because a wedding as big as your will lock down that whole section of the city. Same with St. John the divine on 110st, it's huge, it's the fifth largest church in the world but the locations aren't ideal."

David reached into his folder and pulled out images of the both churches.

"The national cathedral in D.C. is huge also, it's beautiful and the location is perfect because it's right in Washington and I already worked out the time of the wedding, the cherry blossoms will be in full bloom."

"What do you think Fitz?"

"I told you, I like the national cathedral, it's perfect."

Olivia pondered for a moment, she really liked the St. Patrick's cathedral but David and Fitz were right, it wasn't ideal.

"Okay, national cathedral it is."

"Perfect, perfect, it only took me two months to get you to agree, let me text my assistant right away," David said with a chuckle.

David pulled out his phone and quickly texted his assistant then he locked it and dropped it in his bag.

"Okay and now let's go over the space for the reception, white house east room isn't big enough we already agreed on that, there is a really big event space by the waterfront, the building has a clear glass exterior and glass ceiling so it's perfect for a night time reception, you can see the sky around you, it's very similar to the Javits Center in New York, it has a nice big open space with high ceilings that we can hang stuff from, it's very luxurious."

David once again pulled out pictures.

"Right by the water and it's a glass building it's perfect, I don't even want you guys to think on it, I just want you to say yes."

Olivia and Fitz looked over the pictures.

"Did you takes these?"

"Yes, I went to inspect the space last week."

"I really like it, it's a huge space and I love the glass ceiling, so we won't give you a hard time with this one, it's a yes from me, what about you Fitz?"

"Yeah, I like it."

"Perfect, I'm so happy I really had my mind set on that. Next, color scheme, I know we were working on some options, I know you like marigold and gold, blush and gold but you only say picture, I brought you some samples of how the colors would look in fabric: satin, tulle, chiffon, organza."

He pulled a chart from his bag and handed it to Olivia and Fitz.

"I feel like the blush and gold would be really pretty especially with the cherry blossoms in full bloom but I really like the marigold is just so rich and I love it so much, plus I really think the blush would wash you out in pictures Fitz, I'm just saying."

"Liv, if you really like the marigold you should go with that one," Fitz said.

Olivia sighed.

"Okay marigold it is."

"Okay so it's white, marigold, gold and green."

"How would that work?" Fitz asked.

David was going to respond but Olivia jumped in.

"David and I were talking about this a little while back, so we'd have those dainty little gold chairs, the really fancy ones, the utensils would be gold as well, it's like a metallic sort of gold it's not gauche, and white, obviously we'd have white napkins and table covers and plates but also I wanted white roses as our flower and with the roses that's where the green comes in, green leaves to garnish the roses and the stem would be green as well, that's the only place we'd have green, it's not gonna be an official color in the wedding. The marigold would be the accent, so I was thinking satin around the chairs, not like a big bow but we'd find some we could do with it, something minimal and we could tie cute little marigold ribbons around the napkin and so on and so forth."

"I can see it now. I think it'll look nice."

"I know right, it was mostly David who helped me come up with the aesthetic."

David jotted down some notes.

"So next thing we need to go over is the choice for the invitation, I know over the past few weeks you've been eliminating options, so now we have three left."

David placed the three invitations on the table.

"We have to get to one."

"I had no idea making these decisions could be so hard," Olivia said exasperatedly.

Fitz chuckled, he liked that she was a sort of mild bridezilla.

"Fitz, I'm sorry, I can't choose, you have to pick it."

"Liv, I have no idea."

"I can't pick it, Abby likes this one, but I like that one," she pointed.

Abby was Olivia's maid of honor, she been helping with a lot of the decision as well.

"I mean, well it's not Abby's wedding so why don't you go with the one you like," said Fitz.

"I don't know," she whined, "David can I get one more day to think on it please, I mean, I'm sending it to the queen of England for christ sake, I'd hate for her to think it looks tacky or not fancy enough."

"Okay, one more day Liv, I'm gonna hold you to that," David slightly scolded.

"I promise, one more day and also I'm thinking we can add some white and green hydrangeas to the bouquet and some stem flowers, I don't just want it to be roses, I want it have a little flavor."

"I like that," David nodded as he jotted it down, "Okay, final thing, I know I keep saying final thing but this really is the final thing for now, it's the dress. So a few designers have reached out to me in the past week, they want to design you a custom dress."

"What, really?"

"Yes, so Riccardo Tisci's team reached out and he was willing to send you sketches, as well as the team from Marchesa, Elie Saab, Vera Wang, Alexander Mcqueen and Reem Acra."

"Seriously?"

"Yes, I was really excited and I wanted to tell you in person. I gave them your height, weight and measurements and most of them said they'd have something within the next few weeks and Tom Ford wanted to design you a tux as well Mr. President, I gave his team your measurements as well."

Fitz nodded,

"Wow, this is really exciting. How do I tell Riccardo Tisci that I don't like the wedding dress he designed for me."

"Well, I told them what you had in mind for your wedding dress, how you wanted the silhouette, the veil, the train and I know you also were open to ethereal embellishments so I think you'll love all of them and the hard decision will be choosing which one you don't love enough. They said that if you had any suggestions feel free to pass them along and they also could send you a look book of past collections so you could see if you like anything, you know it's crunch time, you have hard decisions to make."

"I feel like these are good hard decision to have to make," Olivia said with a smile.

They say around chatting about further details until they finished dinner then thanked David for his service and escorted him out, afterwards the went to the bedroom.

They refrained from having sex because Fitz wasn't yet feeling 100% after his flu, two nights later however all bets were off.

He was already showered when Olivia came home around 9pm. He gave her a few minutes to shower as well and then the moment the faucet turned off, he opened the shower door and lifted her out.

"We are making this baby tonight," he said as he threw her over his shoulder.

She squealed as he walked her to the room and threw her on the bed.

"Are you still sniffly?"

"No," he said with a smile.

He grabbed her by the feet and pulled her towards him at the edge of the bed and leaned on top of her.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes," she said coyly.

Fitz pulled of his robe, he was completely naked underneath and erect.

"Wow, look at you, ready to go."

"It's been two weeks since we last had sex, of course I'm ready to go."

He leaned down kissed her, it went from soft, to hungry, to ravenous all the while he massaged his thumb around her clit, feeling and waiting for her to get moist enough for him to enter her. It didn't take long to get her to that place and when he entered her slowly, he found her warm and welcoming. He didn't rush, he was very slow and deliberate with his movement because he wanted to commit to memory the first time they had sex, not just for pleasure or love but with the purpose of creating a new life.

Olivia wrapped her arms around him tightly, kissing him and quietly whispering 'I love you's' as he went. Fitz tried to draw it out for as long as possible until he couldn't hold back anymore and burst inside of her. In the middle of his orgasm, Olivia came as well, grabbing a handful of the sheets as she rode hers out. Fitz emptied every ounce he could pump out inside of her and then pulled out carefully. Olivia attempted to sit up but Fitz stopped her.

"No, you're not allowed to move, you have to lay there and let it permeate, I'm pretty sure that's like a rule somewhere."

"Fitz, that's a myth."

"I mean, can you really be sure."

"Yes," she said with a smile.

"Okay but just to be safe, I did good work just now, I wanna give my soldiers a fair shot."

Olivia tried to stifle a laugh but couldn't help it.

"Okay fine, I'll lay here but you have to lay beside me."

"I will do so happily," Fitz said as she plopped down beside her.

"Name, what are we gonna name my daughter?"

Olivia rolled her eyes playfully.

"Fitz, that's entirely premature."

"Is it," he said as he leaned over and kissed her softly.

He took his time kissing her and after a while he pulled her up to the top of the bed and they both snuggled under the covers. They helped themselves to another round of each other just for the hell of it then they both fell asleep shortly after.


	62. Chapter 62

A/N- There's an anonymous guest who comments really rude, non-constructive things on some chapters, since I can't write to you personally because you are a guest, I'll do it here. I'm asking you nicely to stop, if you hate it so much, don't read. This guest thinks Olivia shouldn't blush because she's black, which I think is just an effort to dehumanize and defeminize female black characters, everyone can blush, reacting with embarrassment or shyness at a compliment isn't something black or darker toned women are impervious to, it just depends on the skintone of said woman (or man) as to whether or not it is visible on their skin. Sorry about the rant, sending love to all the other readers who comment whether glowing or critical but do so respectfully. Xoxo.

Sorry about the chapter 62 mishap, I was reviewing past chapters and meant to update a chapter but accidentally posted an old chapter as 62.

One and a half weeks later.

Olivia stood in the closet with Fitz going over her dress options for the Nobel awards ceremony that was in two days. She had cut her choices down to two dresses but she loved them so much that she still couldn't choose. The dress code was very formal, Fitz was required to wear a white bow tie and a tux with a tailcoat, Olivia was required to wear a gown for which she had two but couldn't decide. They were set to leave for Oslo, Norway the next afternoon, they usually gave the physics prize in Stockholm but since she won both and couldn't be at both ceremonies, they were going to join the ceremonies as a courtesy to her. The king of Norway invited them to stay at the palace during the course of their trip and that was exciting and terrifying all on it's own.

Olivia stood staring at her dresses and Fitz was a few feet back, staring at her.

"You'll look great in both, but baby, that blue one is really nice."

"Yeah, I like the blue too," Olivia sighed, " blue it is," she paused, "but the other one is so nice too- no- stop it Olivia the blue one is better, you're wearing the blue."

Fitz stood behind her laughing at her indecisiveness. He walked up to her and wrapped his hands around her.

"This is going to be your first trip out of the country since you came back, are you sure you're okay."

"The way I see it, next to you is the safest place I can be with all your guards and what not and we'll be at the royal palace that also has a lot of guards, I'm trying to be logical and not let fear control me so, I think I will be fine, it will be a great trip."

Fitz kissed her forehead.

"Good, now on to the second question: are you pregnant yet?"

"I don't know," she said as she laughed, "it's only been two weeks."

He lifted her in the air.

"Oh god, I can't wait," he said excitedly.

She leaned down and kissed him, "me too."

The next day.

After a 10 hour flight, they arrived at the Royal Palace in Oslo in the morning of the awards ceremony. When they arrived, they were greeted by the King and Queen. They were dressed so formally that Olivia silently congratulated herself for wearing a rather formal outfit consisting of Brandon Maxwell black wide leg pants, a fuzzy white Burberry cashmere sweater underneath and black longline blazer to match her pants and black Christian Louboutin boots underneath. It was cold so she wore a huge black Balenciaga faux fox fur stole wrapped around her shoulders. She wore small diamond knobs and had her hair neatly wrapped up and makeup exquisitely done to hide how tired she was, that was thanks to Carson and Tucker who she brought along for the trip.

Olivia smiled politely as she took her final steps and stopped in front of the king and queen.

The king uttered something in norwegian and a man standing as translator said the equivalent in english, greeting both Fitz and Olivia. Fitz smiled and thanked the king for his hospitality and they shook hands. The queen turned to Olivia and said something in Norwegian, before the translator could respond, Olivia answered in norwegian, thanking the queen for congratulating them on their engagement. The king and queen smiled and took turns giving her a dainty kiss on the cheek. They chatted for a few minutes, Olivia translated the conversation between the group before the queen escorted them to the guest wing of the palace and showed them to their quarter.

The bedroom was what anyone would imagine a bedroom in a palace would resemble. It was huge with a high ceiling, well decorated with gilded patterns covering the walls and ceilings, gold, cushioned chairs and lavishly carpeted floors, a huge chandelier in the ceiling and a huge bed with an extravagant canopy over the bed.

"Wow," was all Olivia could say to herself as she stared.

The queen left shortly after leaving them alone.

Olivia immediately plopped down on the bed and closed her eyes.

"I just want like an hour of sleep and I'll be able to function," she said lazily.

Fitz smiled.

"Well move over because I need sleep too."

She scooted to the right and gave Fitz space to lay beside her.

"I shouldn't sleep with my makeup on but I'm going to."

Fitz chuckled and pulled her closer and the both fell asleep moments later.

Around 4pm, Olivia woke up, the award ceremony was at 8, they would be meeting the king and queen at 6:30 to ride together to the event.

Olivia sat up and yawned and finally pulled off her blazer. Her four hours of sleep felt like 4 minutes.

She looked over to Fitz who was pacing in his robe with wet hair from a fresh shower and talking on the phone, she felt sorry for him because she was sure he got less sleep that she did.

She got up and walked over to her luggage in the middle of the room and opened it, pulled out her seamless nude panties and her bag of toiletries and then headed to the bathroom to bathe. Half hour later, she stepped out of her steamy bath and wrapped herself in the robe that was already in the bathroom and then went out to meet Fitz who was laying on the bed.

"What's up daddy cakes?"

Fitz chuckled.

"Nothing, I was just working out some issues with Cy."

She laid beside him and rested her head on his chest.

"Tucker and Carson should be getting here at 5, we have twenty minutes, do you want to make out, actually no, we probably shouldn't, I'm just gonna wanna have sex and we don't have enough time."

"We have more than enough time for a quickie."

"No, what if they're recording us."

"Secret service swept the room, we're fine."

He shifted his body so he was laying behind her, he scooped one arm under her and wrapped it around her waist and kissed her shoulder then neck then cheek.

She giggled, "Fitz stop, we have to behave, we can't just have sex everywhere we go."

Fitz kissed her neck again.

"Tell me you don't want it," he whispered in her ear.

She smiled and bit her lip, "now you know I can't say that, that would be a lie."

Fitz chuckled and tugged on the bow on her robe, allowing it to fall open.

There was no time for foreplay but he couldn't help himself, he grabbed her breasts tenderly but with purpose, kissing her as he pinched her nipples. He quickly untied his robe, he could tell Olivia was a little conscious because she pulled the blanket over them both, she hated having sex covered by blankets, she told him she liked to look at him while they did it.

She turned around and smiled at him, "we have really quick okay, and quiet," she said with a chuckle.

He kissed her neck and laughed, "let's see."

They were both laying in their side, Olivia had her back against his chest and Fitz had his arm tucked under her body and wrapped around her waist. He used one hand to pull of her panties and then he lifted one of her legs in the air. He rubbed saliva on his tip and then entered her slowly. Olivia found his hand and intertwined their fingers tightly and turned her head back slightly so she could kiss him as he slowly pumped in and out of her.

"Mmm nice and slow baby, just like that," she whispered breathily.

"That's what you like?" Fitz whispered as he nibbled on her ear.

"Yesss baby that's what I like."

She moved her hand that had been clawing into the sheets and grabbed her breast.

There was a knock on the door.

"Olivia, it's Tucker and Carson, we're here to get you beautified, open up," they called out.

"No- they're early," she choked out.

Fitz held onto her tighter and continued as if he had no intention of stopping.

"Wait- Fitz...stop," she moaned softly.

"No."

"Fitz-"

"No, make them wait."

"Olivia?" They called as they knocked the door again.

She could feel her orgasm close as Fitz went slowly, deliberately and as deep as he could.

"I'm cuming," she screamed.

"Okay, we'll wait, don't rush, we're early," they called from outside.

If she wasn't so caught up in excitement of sex, she'd laugh at the fact that they thought she meant she was coming to the door, when she really meant she was coming to an orgasm.

Just a few seconds later, her orgasm rippled through her body and she buried her face in the soft Egyptian cotton sheets. Fitz came seconds later, holding her tight as he emptied himself inside her.

She took a breath and quickly got up, she checked herself in the mirror before she ran to the door and cracked it open, barely peeking out.

"Fitz is on a really important phone call, can you just give us like... I don't know, maybe 10 minutes."

She heard Fitz chuckling softly from the bed.

"Sure, no problem, we'll be right back, they told us they had food in the dining room so I guess we'll go grab some stuff, do you want us to bring you anything back."

"Yes, bring everything, I'm starving."

"Okay, we'll be right back."

"Thank you guys."

Olivia closed the door quickly and walked back over to Fitz who seemed to be enjoying himself, laughing in the bed. She took one of the pillow and hit him.

"Not funny."

He smirked and pulled her on top of him.

"Satisfy my curiosity, when you screamed you were coming, did you mean to the door or to an orgasm?"

Olivia smiled.

"Maybe a bit of both."

"That was iconic."

"Shut up and stop making fun of me and help me clean up, I have your cum running down my legs."

He stood up and then swept her up in his arms.

"Okay, let's go."

He grabbed her underwear from off the bed and they went to the bathroom and cleaned themselves up. By the time they got out, Tucker and Carson returned and knocked again and this time Olivia let them it. She was still wearing her robe but Fitz had changed into a t-shirt and sweatpants. Tucker walked in with plates of fancy, scrumptious looking hors d'oeuvres and Carson had suitcases of hair tools and makeup.

She sat in her chair and ate as she waited for them to set up. Fitz stood in front of her eating from her plate until the guys were finished setting up.

"So we're thinking soft Hollywood curls with a side part," said Tucker.

"Let's do it," she said with a smile.

As Tucker parted her hair out and styled it, Carson did her makeup. Almost an hour later, Olivia was done. Tucker, styled Fitz's hair as well. Tucker took her dress out of the garment bag and helped Olivia into it.

A pretty, metallic, dusty blue, matte, duchesse satin dress, it had a fitted bodice that had a small v plunge cut at the straight neckline with no straps. It fit like a glove from her bust down to her thigh and then the soft satin fabric flowed to the ground and formed a circular train stretching out two feet behind her. Under the satin train was a short layer a charmeuse silk lace fabric that stretched out just an inch further than the train to give it a pretty effect as if moved. It had a very old Hollywood glamour to it so her hair and soft makeup worked perfectly.

"Guys can you give us a sec, let me help Fitz get dressed."

"Yeah sure, we'll come back in 5 minutes."

They left while Olivia helped Fitz get dressed in his tux.

"Where the hell did you find this dress, it's gorgeous."

She blushed.

"Don't act like you haven't seen it before."

"Yeah but you didn't have it on, it's amazing, look at your ass, it just won't quit."

"It's not too tight, is it," she said as she fixed his bow tie.

"It's like second skin, it fits perfect."

"Thank you," she said with a smile.

She kissed him and then wiped the lip gloss of his lips.

"Guys you can come in now," she called out.

Tucker and Carson opened the door and walked in from the hallway. The helped her out on her diamond knobs and necklace and threw her white fur stole over her arms. Tucker helped her strap her white Manolo Blahnik heeled sandals on, they were hidden under her dress so she kept them simple. She turned so Fitz could see her.

"How do I look?"

"Perfect," he said with a smile.

Fitz checked his watch, "I think it's time for us to go meet the king and queen, we wouldn't want to be late to your award ceremony."

"Okay," she turned to Tucker and Carson, "thank you guys so much."

"You're welcome sweetie, I'm getting serious Marilyn Monroe on the red carpet vibes from you right now, you look great," said Tucker.

"Yes honey, you look amazing," said Carson.

"Thanks."

Tucker and Carson left first to go back to their hotel, the staff that flew with them in AF1 stayed at a nearby hotel. Olivia and Fitz left to meet the king and queen shortly after and then they travelled to the Nobel ceremony together.

It was different from what Olivia expected. There were monarchs, heads of state from neighboring countries, oligarchs and the top members of respective science, math, language and humanitarian fields from all over the world. There was a banquet at first, they ate, laughed, chatted, Fitz was excellent at mingling and everyone in the room wanted to mingle with him but he somehow managed to keep the spotlight on her. He wouldn't stop raving about how great she looked and how brilliant she was to the point where it made her uncomfortable but in a good way. After the banquet, they headed to the stage. They sat across from the king and queen. A few people, some of whom she was familiar with, others she wasn't, gave glowing speeches about her and the work she was doing. The ceremony didn't last long, the king awarded her with both medals and certificates.

As she stood on stage beside the king and queen, holding up her medals while the photographers and guests alike took thousands of pictures of her, she looked over to Fitz. He was standing up with the widest, most gorgeous smile on his face, applauding her, more emphatically than anyone else.

She smiled at him, "I love you," she mouthed.

"I love you too," he mouthed back.

The ceremony concluded soon after, they mingle a while longer. They let the photographers take a few picture of them posed together though they had many from the night.

After the awards ceremony, they headed back to the palace where they slept for the night, early the next morning, they headed back to the states. They reached the white house residence a little after 11pm. They were both exhausted and immediately stripped down and got in bed, cuddling each other tightly.

"I'm exhausted and we're only two weeks into December, what's next," Olivia asked.

"White House Christmas party is coming up and then on the 23rd, we go on vacation."

"I can't wait, vacation in Aspen, hot chocolate, cuddling by the fireplace, we definitely have to go skiing, I'm so excited."

Fitz smiled.

"Really, aren't you excited about your first late night tv show interview, Seth Sinclair, that's a big deal."

"I'm nervous, I don't know why I made you convince me to do it."

"I know Seth Sinclair, I've been on his show plenty of times, he's great, he's not out to get you, I think you'll have fun."

She smiled.

"I hope so."

The next night, Olivia was found herself in Los Angeles, waiting backstage for Seth Sinclair to call her onstage. She had her hair pin straight and parted down the middle, flowing down her back and tucked behind her ears. She wore the dusty pink tweed Chanel cropped jacket and a line skirt that reached her mid thigh, under the jacket she wore a white underpinning. She paired it with white Christian Louboutin pumps and a gold chanel necklace and iconic double 'C' knob earrings. It was a fun and sexy twist on the more classic conservative Chanel suit, short but not too short, sexy but not too sexy.

"Please welcome to the stage, dr. Olivia Pope."

The was her cue, she walked nervously out to the stage and waved to the crowd as they cheered her on and then took a seat on the couch.

"Wow, you're very pretty in person, very attractive."

Olivia chuckled.

"Pictures, you know, who knew they could be reliable," she joked.

Seth laughed.

"Wow, she's funny too, what's going on here, you tryna take my job."

"No, no, no," Olivia said with a smile.

"Okay, so first of all, I wanted to congratulate you on your Nobel awards, first person in history to win two awards at the same time."

The crowd applauded.

"Thank you," Olivia said with a smile.

"I actually have a problem with you," Seth said.

"Oh my, what did I do?"

"I had my producers do a little oppo on you, and I mean, we found some pretty amazing things, the things you can do, which I honestly think are a little overblown, just a little so I'm gonna show you that well, you aren't that special, I can do all the things you can do and more."

Olivia laughed.

"I wish you all the best Seth, I really hope you beat me."

"I think you're being sarcastic, I can't tell, see she's so smart, you can't even tell if she's being sarcastic or not."

Olivia laughed.

"I'm not, I'm not, I really do wish you the best."

"See, she's doing it again. So wait, before we get to our game let me ask you this, how is president Grant doing, he hasn't been giving me much material to make fun of lately so I'm not very happy with him right now."

Olivia laughed.

"I was actually really nervous about coming here but he told me you were great and also I think you do a pretty great job of making fun of him, you save me from having to do it myself, I'll try to like trip him in public next time we're out, to give you something to work with- what am I talking about, of course not, he's too amazing, do you guy know how amazing he is, that's a serious question."

Seth laughed, so did the audience.

"Yes, well he did win the last election so I think we kind of have an idea but look here," he pulled out a list from the papers he was reading, "okay, so I have a list here, let's see: you can write with both hands, that's not true, you can do really hard math problems in your head, I don't believe that."

Olivia held her stomach and laughed.

"How many languages do you speak? Because right here it says 15, you can do better than that."

"Well, actually, they asked me that question when I was 14, that's how many l I knew at 14."

"How many do you know now?"

"Well at this moment, 42, although not all of them are languages that are currently spoken, 10 are dead languages."

"What's a dead language?"

"A dead language is a language no longer spoken in everyday use."

"Show off, if no one speaks them, why do you need to know them."

"So I can read ancient poetry and literature and hieroglyphics and stuff, it's really interesting stuff."

"So which dead languages do you know?"

"So there's, old Norse, which like Viking language, Akkadian the language of ancient Mesopotamia, which is also what cuneiform is scripted in, Biblical Hebrew because I wanted to read the bible in it's original form, Coptic, Aramaic, old Sanskrit which is a tricky one because they are a few villages in India that speak Sanskrit but in a modern form, language have a way of evolving into someone entirely different, I also speak Ancient Egyptian, Ancient Greek and Latin."

"Say something in Aramaic."

Olivia uttered something in the language.

"What does that mean?"

"If only you spoke Aramaic," Olivia said with a smile.

"Well, I do so… Thank you for that."

Olivia chuckled and shook her head.

"Okay we'll stick around, after the break we're going to test how smart she really is."

Olivia always wondered what happened after they went to commercial break, apparently Seth told jokes to the crowd. She could see them setting up props for whatever game they were going to play after the commercial break.

"Alright we're back, so I'm here with Dr. Olivia Pope and we're going to play a game."

Seth stood up from his seat and brought her over to the side of the stage with the props. There were two chalkboards, both were blank.

Once Seth got to the board, he flipped them both revealing math equations, one very complex and one very simple.

"Okay so, we have two equations, obviously mine it harder."

Olivia chuckled.

"I had a professor from Columbia write this equation, I told him to write the hardest equation he could think up and this is what he came up with for you, so have at it, I'll do my equation."

Olivia's equation was complex and was spread out across the entire board but she took one look and already she knew the answer. Seth's equation read: 1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9*2.

They both stepped up to the board and Olivia wrote her answer as Seth began counting. She placed the chalk down and stepped back.

"Done."

"What?"

"By the way Seth, I think the answer your looking for 90."

"I knew that and okay, since you wanna play hardball, let's go."

He flipped the board back to the blank side.

"I heard your ambidextrous, which for the people who don't know what that means, it means you can write with both your left and right hand, so let play a game, we both going to draw something on this board, using both hands at the same time, we set the clock to 2 minutes, whoever has the best picture afterwards, wins. You ready?"

"Let's do it," Olivia said with a smile.

"Okay, 3,2,1… Go."

They both began drawing the board, Olivia decided to sketch a picture of Seth, one piece of chalk in her left and one in her right, the used both hands at the same time to sketch the picture which was coming out as a very apt, Seth however, to no one's surprise, struggled. As they both drew their pictures, Seth tried erasing Olivia's off the board as she drew it to give himself and advantage.

"Done," Olivia said a few seconds before the time went off.

Seth stopped and stepped back to look at her picture of him.

"Wow, it looks more handsome than me."

Olivia chuckled.

"I guess I don't have to ask the crowd who won, alright thank you for being here tonight and congratulations again on your Nobel awards, it's obvious you deserved it. Merry Christmas, we'll be right back after this break."

Olivia smiled and waved to the crowd and then headed off stage back to her dressing room. Once she got stepped in her dressing room, her assistant Sienna who she had brought along for the trip handed her, her vibrating phone. She answered immediately.

"How was it?"

"You did great, you were funny."

Olivia slipped off her heels and put on a pair of flip flops.

"Thanks, I was nervous at first but you're right, he's nice."

"I told you," Fitz said with a chuckle, "you're leaving now right."

"Yes, I have a surgery in New York."

"What, you didn't tell me that."

"Yes, I did, you always pretend I don't, hoping I'll feel bad and not go."

Fitz chuckled.

"Okay, fine, I did know but hurry and come back, I miss you already, I'm laying I bed all by myself and all I can think of is how much I want to have sex with you and lick your vagina and suffocate myself I between your boobs. I'd die happy."

She laughed.

"You're so funny, well it's just one day, when I fly back we can get back to all the," Olivia looked around and noticed she had an audience, Tucker, Carson, Sienna, so she whispered, "baby making."

Fitz chuckled.

"You're with people?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, call me when you get in the plane, I'll be up."

"What are you working on?"

"I wasn't working on anything per se, I was just reading this really funny book."

"Aww, okay well tell me all about it when I call you later, I love you okay, bye."

"I love you too sweetie, bye."


	63. Chapter 63

A week before Christmas.

Olivia sat on the toilet waiting anxiously for the result of her pregnancy test. She hadn't experienced any symptoms that would lead her to believe she was pregnant but it had almost been a month since she removed her IUD and she only bled once since then and that was when she initially removed the IUD. They'd had plenty of sex since then and the anxiety was killing her so she just needed to know. She didn't tell Fitz she was taking the test because she didn't want him to get disappointed if she wasn't pregnant.

The pregnancy test dinged and she held it up slowly, it was negative.

She sighed. She wasn't sure if she should feel disappointed or sad, it had only been a month and the doctor in her knew that it could take months for a perfectly healthy woman to get pregnant.

She heard footsteps and then Fitz walked in.

"Liv, we've been waiting for you at the Christmas party and you're not even dressed."

She stood up quickly and hid the test behind her back.

She had her hair and makeup done but she was dressed in only her bathrobe; her dress and shoes were in were in the closet.

Fitz walked closer, "what's going on, what are you hiding behind your back?"

Olivia scrunched her nose and pondered how to respond, she didn't want to lie to him, not about this.

"A pregnancy test."

"You're pregnant?"

He said it with such excitement that it made her smile but then she knew she had to disappoint him.

"No. Sorry."

He smiled and walked over to her and kissed her on the lips.

"Hey, it's okay, all great things take time, besides, trying is half the fun. This just means we have a lot more trying to do."

She smiled.

"Yeah, that's true."

"Can I see it?"

She held up the test and showed him, Fitz examined it carefully.

"I hope you don't feel like I'm pressuring you, I'm just excited but I didn't think you'd get pregnant right away."

"No, I don't feel pressured, I just wanted to know and I mean... on the bright side I can drink tonight with a clear conscience but ...it might also just be too soon to pick up the hormone in my pee, I think I'll just play it safe and not drink."

Fitz chuckled.

"A few sips of wine won't hurt you but it's up to you."

"Yeah, you're right."

Fitz smiled again.

"Come on, people are asking for you out there, let's go."

"Okay," she said with a smile.

They headed to closet and Fitz waited as Olivia pulled on her red lace Dolce and Gabbana dress and nude Jimmy Choo heels. Once she was dressed they headed off to the party.

They made the rounds, greeting everyone, laughing, making small talk. Gerry and Kenna kept to themselves, Cyrus and James did the same thing Olivia and Fitz did, they mingled. She invited her friends and sure enough, they were all in attendance: Abby, Kamaya, Huck, Elliot, Harrison, Stephen and to her surprise they brought Sahara who she spent most of the night playing with.

The party ended a little before 11pm. That night, she stayed at her apartment with Abby, Kamaya, Elliot and Sahara; Huck and Harrison stayed by Stephen.

The next morning, they left early, Olivia headed to work right after.

In the night, when she got to the residence and walked into their bedroom, the first thing she saw was Fitz, standing in a sea of decadently wrapped gifts and gift bags.

She gasped and smiled, "Fitz, it's not Christmas for another 6 days, I hope you didn't get me these."

"I didn't."

"Then who did? Is it from those companies again."

"Nope it's not from them, do you want to take a wild guess who it's from?"

"Who?"

"Your soulmate Daniel."

Olivia almost laughed, Fitz said his name with such venom that it made her slightly uncomfortable but she also thought it was hilarious.

"Seriously," she said with a small chuckle that she tried to hide but it somehow escaped.

"Oh yeah, and attached to each gift is a handwritten note, detailing different sexual encounters you two had."

Fitz held up a stack a white cards and started sifting through.

"There's that one time you did it at the Eiffel Tower, that was interesting, and then in the bathroom at some restaurant and oh look, here's another one detailing your first time."

Olivia walked over quickly and grabbed the notes from him and looked for herself, flipping through a few of the cards. They were written in english so she knew Daniel wrote them hoping Fitz would read them.

"I can't believe he did this," she said with a chuckle.

She chuckled, not because she thought it was funny, but because she thought it was ridiculous. That detail however was lost on Fitz.

"Do you think this is funny?" He asked, not angrily but his tone was serious.

"Obviously not but it's just so…I mean, it's kinda ridiculous, don't you think."

Fitz shook his head and walked over to the chair where he'd thrown his sweater over the back and picked it up.

"I'm going for a walk, once you're done laughing let me know so we can have a serious conversation about why the fuck your ex thinks it's okay to do this."

"Fitz, don't be like that, he's not my ex, he was never my boyfriend."

"You might not think he was but it's pretty clear that he thinks he was, with all this crazy sex you two were having I don't blame him for thinking you two were together."

"So it's my fault that Daniel can't get over me?"

"No but you OBVIOUSLY haven't made it clear to him that this is not okay, is this what you want Olivia, is this what you like, I don't give you enough attention so you need it from him too!"

"Fitz, stop."

He stepped closer.

"This is it Olivia, you better talk to him, make sure he knows that what he did today, can never happen again because if it does he'll have to deal with me and I'm not nearly as nice as you."

"You're overreacting, he wants you to get angry and you're doing exactly that."

"I'm not angry and if you want to see me overreact, tell Daniel to do this again."

Fitz turned and left, he didn't slam the door but he also didn't gently shut it either. She kicked a few of the gift bags out of her way angrily as she walked to the bathroom to shower. She wasn't comfortable with seeing Fitz that angry, even though he didn't seem directly angry with her, it was still scary.

After her shower, she threw on one of Fitz's t-shirts and some shorts. She read through the notes quickly just to see exactly what Daniel had written and then went to find Fitz. It wasn't hard to guess where he went, he was dressed in workout clothes so she went to the workout room first.

She found him at the bench press and sat on his lap as she waited for him to finish his set, he was taking awhile, on purpose. She cleared her throat loudly just to let him know she was waiting and that's when he rested the weight on the bar and gave her his attention.

"You have a sweat mustache," she said with a smile, attempting to lighten his mood.

"And you have a real mustache."

"I don't," she said laughing.

She liked when he made fun of her, she didn't take herself seriously enough to be uptight about it, she thought it was funny,

"Are you ready to talk?"

"Are you going to take the situation seriously."

"I take it seriously, I'm not happy he did this, I think it was disrespectful and immature but baby I have so much stuff going, we're planning a wedding, we're trying to pregnant, I'm busy at the lab; on my totem pole of priorities, this isn't even on it. He definitely crossed the line, I understand why you're mad but I know him, he wants you to be mad, he's counting on it, you can't give him that. There's a reason he wrote it in english, that's because they were for you, not me, I just went through the notes and half of what he wrote was made up."

"So I should just pretend he's not trying to take you away from me, in the most crude and disrespectful way possible, he practically spat in my face."

"For the last time, he can't take what's not his, I'm yours, I'm marrying you and I'm trying to get pregnant with your baby, I think you're safe."

"What happened when he visited your lab on your birthday?"

It was apparent to her that he didn't want to be appeased.

"I told you nothing happened."

"I find that hard to believe."

"I wouldn't lie to you about that, why are you blaming me for this, I didn't do anything."

Hers eyes began to gather water but it was slightly on purpose because she knew once he saw her crying he would most like end the argument.

It worked almost instantly and within seconds he had his arms wrapped around her and pulled her into his chest.

"I'm sorry, I don't blame you, I'm just angry, I'm so fucking angry Liv, I don't even think you understand."

"I understand, trust me, I do."

They were still for a while and she thought the best way to get past their awkward little stall was to change the subject. He was still sweaty from his workout so she thought she'd make fun of him.

"Baby, you stink," she said, smiling as she leaned up from his chest.

He smiled, finally.

"This is man funk, it's sexy."

"No, it's really bad," she said as she laughed.

Fitz wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her closer and kissed her.

"You love it."

"I do."

Olivia leaned up, pulled off her shirt then kissed him. She stood up and allowed him to pull her shorts down and throw them to the floor then she leaned on top of him and continued kissing him.

He pulled his sweatpants down, not all the way but enough to free himself and then he pulled her underwear to the side and eased her down on him then thrusted slowly.

She grinded her hip against his, slow and circular, in a maddening fashion. She kept her forehead against his and listened to him moan in the most delicious way.

"Fuck," he moaned as he slapped her ass.

"Mmm again."

He slapped her ass again.

"Yesss," she moaned.

Fitz stopped and switched positions, bending her over the bench and then entering her again and this time, he took control, pounded her, slow and deep, till they both orgasmed. Afterwards, they cleaned up before then headed back to the bedroom.

Fitz immediately went to the bathroom and turned on the faucet to fill the tub then undressed and sat in the water, Olivia followed and did the same, she sat in between his legs, facing him.

They'd been sitting for all of five seconds before Olivia began speaking.

"Are we okay, I mean, you're not mad at me or anything right, we're okay?"

He leaned in a kissed her softly on the lips.

"I was never mad at you, we're good and I'm sorry for pulling you into the middle of this, it wasn't fair, I don't think you should call him, in fact, now that I think about it, I don't ever want you calling him again. I'll talk to him."

"What are you going to say?"

"I'll tell him we're sending back the gifts and that he should cut it out, no drama, no blowout, just a serious conversation. I don't like what he did to you, sending the gifts is one things but the notes; that crossed the line and he needs to know he can't do it again."

Olivia nodded, "Okay just please stay calm, the last thing I want is for you to get into some death match with him," she rested her head against chest and threw her leg across his.

As hard as Fitz tried, he couldn't shake the feeling that she was trying to protect Daniel somehow.

"Why are you protecting him."

She sat up.

"I'm not protecting him, what is your problem, do you want me to give you permission to kill him, is that what you want, just because he annoyed you."

"No but he's playing a dangerous game and if you think I'm going to look the other way while he's sending you notes about how much he misses having sex with you then you're severely overestimating my character."

Olivia face palmed herself in frustration. She couldn't blame him for being mad, if she were in his situation she would feel the same way but she was way more rational and mild tempered than he was, whenever she was angry, she thought before she acted and she also knew how to turn the other cheek, he didn't. Fitz shoots first and asks questions later, maybe not in his role as president but as a man and the last thing she needed was for Fitz to get on the phone with Daniel and hear something that pissed him off more and then fly off the handle because of it.

"So I guess there is going to be drama then, because you don't sound like someone that wants to diffuse the situation, you sound like you want to make it worse."

"Whatever happens, happens."

Olivia sighed as stood and stepped out of the tub.

"Goodnight, I'm going to bed," she said as she grabbed a towel and stormed off. Fitz didn't respond, he sat still in the tub until he felt like washing off then he threw on boxers and a t shirt and joined Olivia in bed.

They both laid staring at the ceiling, refusing to speak to each other until Fitz caved. He leaned over and kissed her on the lips, she didn't return the kiss so he kissed her again and again, until she finally started laughing.

"I'm sorry okay, maybe I'm being a little bit irrational about this but it's only because I love you so much, you make me crazy and just the thought of him trying to get his hands on you makes me so-"

She could see him getting agitated even as he spoke.

"It's okay, I understand, do what you need to do just promise me you won't make a mess of things."

"Uh, but making a mess is so much fun."

Olivia gave him a scolding look.

"I'm kidding," he said quickly.

She smiled, "so we're okay now, because the last time you said we were okay you were still mad."

"For the last time, I'm not mad at you, I might have been projecting my anger on you a little but I'm not mad at you."

"Okay, gimme a kiss."

He leaned over and kissed her and then pulled her close to him and wrapped his arm around her waist. They both fell asleep shortly after.

* * *

The next morning, once Olivia left for work, he decided to make the call. As he had his phone in his hand, ready to dial, there was a knock on his Oval Office door.

"Dad, it's Gerry."

"Come in Gerr."

Gerry walked in with Max in his arms.

"Morning dad, is it a bad time, I needed a serious father-son talk."

"About what?"

"Do you have time, can you talk?"

"You know I always have time for you, sit down. Let's talk."

Fitz gestured to the couch as he walked over and sat down, Gerry sat beside him and let Max down to the ground to run around.

"What's up Gerr?"

"Uhm, so last night when I ran to the kitchen for a late night snack, I walked past the workout room and I heard something."

"Oh no."

"Oh yes. It was a very unique set of noises, often associated with sex."

"Hmm, well it definitely wasn't me. Who would do such a thing."

"Dad, I know it was you and Olivia, she said your name."

"Ahhh Gerry, why can't you just be like a normal kid and act like you didn't hear anything."

"No, I'm glad that happened because I really wanted to ask you some stuff about sex but I was afraid it was going to be awkward and now it's as awkward for you as it is for me, so it's perfect."

"Well played, but didn't we already have the birds and the bees talk, several times, and aren't you past that stage now."

"Actually no, I haven't actually had sex yet. I'm a virgin."

"Quit lying," Fitz teased.

"No, I'm telling the truth, we only really became a couple in December last year and Kenna wanted to take things slow and then by May I broke my back so I could really do anything even if I wanted to and then during the summer I was with mom and then when we came back to school in September we just made out and fooled around but now we decided that we're ready to do it, tonight actually, before I leave tomorrow to stay with mom for the holidays and you always said if I ever needed to talk to you about anything at all, no matter how awkward or how bad, I should come to you."

"Wow, I did say that, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did," Gerry said with a smile.

"So what do you wanna know?"

"I don't know, just tell me what to do and what not to do, I have no idea what to do, I mean, we've messed around and I've seen porn and stuff but I know that's not real so I just need some advice."

"Let's just forget how weird it is that I'm giving you tips on how to have sex-"

"Yeah but I don't have an older brother or uncle and my friends don't know what they're talking about, it's just you so...please."

Fitz cleared his throat.

"Well, first of all, if you're doing it, I'd prefer it happen in your own room, so you know that no one is recording or anything like that, if it makes it less weird, Olivia and I will stay at her apartment tonight, you're 16, you'll be 17 in a month, I trust you enough to leave you alone tonight that being said, there are a few ground rules once you decide to have sex, I told you already but I'm going to tell you again. The first and most important, is that you should never hurt a woman during sex, welll, never hurt a woman period but during sex, it's especially bad, once she says 'no' or 'stop' it absolutely 100% means no or stop, it's not a question or suggestion and it doesn't matter if you feel like you want to keep going, or you're close to an orgasm, even if it hurts your feelings, you should stop. Don't force her to do anything she isn't comfortable with either, I know people are kinky or whatever, but definitely make sure both of you have an understanding about whatever it is you guys are going to do."

Gerry nodded.

"Also I gave you a box of condoms Gerry, please, use them."

"Dad, I know all about sex Ed, the very expensive school you send me to taught me all about that. I want to know what do so Kenna likes it and what to expect."

"Please don't reference her by name for the purpose of this conversation, it's making me queasy."

Gerry chuckled.

"Okay fine but still what should I do."

"Okay well, when a woman decides to take that step with you, especially when you two have affection for one another, it's a big step, that means she trusts you with her body and you should cherish it. I'm sure she'll be nervous, you will be too, so it's important not to take yourself too seriously you know, make her smile, focus on her. Take your time, make sure she's ready before you actually do it, foreplay is a good way to do that before you get to the 'other thing' and please Gerry, whatever you do, be gentle, it's both your first time and it's hurts more for a woman than a man."

"Really?"

"Yes, so you have to keep that in mind."

"My friends say that girls bleed their first time?"

"Yeah, most but not all, every woman's body is different but if she does, please don't get freak out by that and don't make her feel weird either, it's just blood."

"What should I do, you know, after?"

"Well don't just put on your clothes and ask her if she's ready to go, how you treat a woman before sex is just as important as how you treat her after, some people like to cuddle, or just talk, some don't."

"Okay but how do I know she wants to cuddle or talk."

"You'll know, if she lies facing you afterwards, she wants to talk, if she lies with her back towards you she wasn't to cuddle. Body language is important, I don't expect you to ask her every time you remove an article of clothing if it's okay to move forward, you have to watch her, you know, pay attention and she'll give you silent cues to let you know what she wants. Don't overthink Gerr, it'll be fine."

"When you put it like that it doesn't sound so hard. How do I make someone orgasm, better yet, how do you know someone orgasmed?"

Fitz checked watch.

"If you follow my advice, you won't have to wonder about either, time to go now, I have a meeting."

"No you don't but I think I pretty much asked you everything I needed to know."

"Perfect, thank god this conversation is over."

"I'll let you know how it goes."

"Please don't."

Gerry laughed and stood up.

"Thanks dad, I know that was painful."

"Do you?"

Gerry picked up Maxime and headed to the door.

"Oh Fitz," he teased in a breathy voice, imitating Olivia.

Fitz jumped up and chased him but Gerry eluded him and ducked out the door.

He laughed and shook his head at his son and then headed back to his desk.

After his hilariously awkward conversation with Gerry, he was feeling less tension about talking with Daniel. He dialed the number and waited.

"Bonjour, qui est-ce?" Daniel answered.

"Bonjour Daniel, it's President Grant, you know me right, you keep sending gifts to my fiancee."

There was a brief pause.

"I knew you'd call, did Olivia tell you not to?" he said in a thick french accent.

"Actually, she gave me your number, we wanted to invited you to visit us for dinner."

"Vraiment?"

"Yes, really, my assistant will reach out to you with the specifics, I have important business to get to but I look forward to meeting you."

"As do I."

"Good, we have a lot to discuss."

Fitz hung up without giving Daniel a chance to respond and then lingered awhile before Esme called him for his meeting.

* * *

Later in the evening, when Olivia walked into their bedroom, she found him lying on the couch, drinking a beer and eating dinner. His mood seemed far better than the day before. She walked over and kissed him then sat on his lap.

"So I was thinking, you should go through the bags and take what you want and then we can probably regift the rest."

Olivia was shocked.

"Um, who are you and what have you done with my fiance?"

Fitz chuckled.

"I've been unreasonable, I know how much you love my tantrums because they get you aroused but still, I've decided to pull back a little."

She chuckled,

"Or, you called Daniel and cursed him out and now you feel better."

"Actually no, we had a pretty constructive phone call."

"What did you do, I know you, you'd only be this smug if you felt like you got back at him for what he did."

"I had the chef bring up steak for you, porterhouse medium rare, just like you like it."

He pulled the dome off her plate that was sitting in the coffee table in front of the sofa.

"Oh my god, really, I'm starving- hey, stop doing that Fitz."

He laughed.

"It works."

She eased out of his lap and picked her plate up and rested it in her lap and began eating.

"What did you two talk about?"

"Gerry's down the hall getting his cherry popped."

Olivia almost choked on the bit of steak she had in her mouth.

"What, he's a virgin?"

"I know, I was surprised too. By the way, if he asks tomorrow, we spent the night at your apartment, I told him I was going to leave him here alone and he actually believed me."

"So he told you he was gonna do it?"

"Yes, we had the most awkward conversation to date, he wanted advice on what to do?"

"Awww, he wanted advice from his daddy, what did you tell him?"

"I told him to be safe, make sure he doesn't hurt her and to take his time, he's probably only gonna last 5 minutes anyways, I barely lasted that my first time."

Olivia chuckled.

"You came right away?"

"I came on the third pump."

Olivia laughed and kissed him.

"You're seriously the worst and best at the same time."

"Don't I know it," he said in agreement.

The conversation never turned back to Daniel, instead they spent the night watching tv, drinking beer, laughing and chatting until they fell asleep on the couch.


	64. Chapter 64

On the morning of eve of Christmas, Olivia and Fitz left for Aspen and touched down at the Pitkin county airport around 2pm. It was a quick drive back to the cabin.

When Olivia stepped in, she placed Maxime on the ground so he could explore and get familiar with his surroundings.

The cabin smelled like fresh pine, thanks to the huge evergreen tree standing by the fireplace. It was beautifully decorated with christmas ornaments, as was the entire cabin.

"Fitz, I wanted to trim the tree with you, why did you have it decorated already?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"It's okay, whoever did this, did an amazing job."

Olivia kicked off her shoes and unzipped her jacket.

"Time to go skiing," she said excitedly, "you know, I'm pretty sure I'm a better skier than you, I've got mad skills," she teased.

"Please, don't embarrass yourself Liv."

She chuckled, "I love it when you get all cocky."

He wrapped his arms around her waist and picked up then kissed her.

"Fitz, your jacket is cold," she complained.

"Yeah but it's nice isn't it."

"Well obviously, I'm gonna say yes, I bought it!"

He shook his head and smiled.

"Let's go change, there should be a snowstorm tonight so the quicker we head out the quicker we get back."

She nodded, "okay."

They changed into their matching black and white ski suits. Afterwards, they headed straight to the ski resort. They both knew how to ski so they didn't need instructions and they had equipment, all they needed was a slope. Olivia brought Max along because she didn't want him to be stuck in the cabin while they were out having fun but she also couldn't watch him while she skied so she asked her agents to watch him.

Guests at the resort took pictures of them as they strapped on their skis at the top of the slope.

"Are you ready," Fitz asked.

"I was born ready," she said what a smile.

They got set at the top and then took off down the slope. As they skied down the slope, Olivia looked across briefly at Fitz who somehow was 10 feet in the air doing some sort of air trick, she shook her head as his showboating. By the time they reached the bottom, Fitz stopped directly in front of her.

"Technique, execution, follow-through, I might also give myself a few extra points for flair."

"Oh shut up."

He chuckled and pulled off his goggles and gave her a kiss.

"You wanna go again, double or nothing?"

Olivia smiled.

"Deal."

After spending almost two hours out on the slope, they headed back to the resort cafe for hot chocolate. She took Max into the cafe and entertained him while she waited for Fitz to order their hot chocolates. Christmas carols played on the radio, the fresh smell of peppermint filled the air, moments later, Fitz walked over with two cups of hot chocolate and peppermint brownies on a tray, he placed them on the table and then took a seat beside her.

"This smells amazing," she said with a smile as she took a small bite of her warm brownie.

Max sniffed around her brownie but she was careful not to let him get too close because she knew what chocolate did to dogs.

"Olivia I'm sorry, I can't take it anymore, you dress this dog like a freaking doll, what is he wearing?"

She chuckled.

"He's wearing a Kate Spade doggy snowsuit, isn't it cute, I wanted him to be warm."

"He has fur for that," he said with a chuckle.

"Yes but he needs to be warm and fashionable, like his mama."

"Oh boy, poor Max," Fitz said exhaustively.

They sat, drinking their hot chocolate and bantering back and forth for some time until they finally headed back to their cabin.

Once they got in, they both took turns showering and by night time, they settled on the couch under the blanket, watching tv until they both fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning when Fitz woke up, the sound of Mariah Carey's 'all I want for Christmas is you," played throughout the cabin. He smelled food, bacon and cinnamon, specifically, and he needed to find it. He quickly brushed his teeth and then headed to the kitchen to meet Olivia. He found her standing by the kitchen island. He stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her.

"Merry Christmas," he said with a beaming smile.

She turned around and faced him.

"Merry Christmas," she returned with a beaming smile of her own.

Fitz looked around at the table, there were cinnabons, bacon, belgian waffles, eggs, toast, pancakes, strawberries, blueberries and breakfast sausages.

"This looks and smells amazing baby, how long did it take you to make all this?"

"Not very long, I was just about to wake you, I thought since this is our first christmas together, I'd make us a special breakfast, I won't make dinner though, I do not cook turkeys."

Fitz smiled.

"It's okay, I've got dinner all set, they're dropping it off around 3 or so in the afternoon."

"Okay, perfect- wait- who the heck is working on christmas, if they don't have too?"

"The owner of this diner in town, I've known him for years and he's just sending some of his family dinner over for us."

"Aww that's really nice."

Fitz was about to take a strip of bacon when Olivia swatted his arm away.

"No, no, no, where is my gift?"

He chuckled.

"Okay, I'll go get it."

"And I'll get yours as well."

They both turned and headed in different directions and moments later, convened in the den. They both had several gifts.

"Me first, I really hope you like it," Fitz said nervously.

He handed her a large, flat wrapped felt like a picture or portrait of some kind.

"Can I get a hint before I open it?" she asked.

"Nope, just open it."

"Okay."

She pulled the small tabs of tab off the side and tore the wrapping paper, "I think it's a picture, you know how much I love art," she said excitedly, "how did you even get this here?"

"I had it shipped before we came."

It was rather large, Olivia leaned it up against the wall and continued pulling off the paper until it was completely off and her gift was revealed to her. It was a portrait, a large oil painted portrait, of her. She almost couldn't believe it was her, it was so ethereal and beautiful that she was at a lost for words.

"Do you like it?" he asked.

"Oh my god, yes!" she jumped and clapped her hands excitedly, "I can't believe that's me, did you paint this?"

"Of course not, I can barely write."

Olivia giggled and covered her face shyly.

"Now I feel bad about my gift, I got you an XBox console and a Grand Theft Auto Game, I thought it'd be a great way for you to relax, you know, you could have sex with prostitutes and rob liquor stores and kill people, you know, I bought you a bunch of other games two but I've heard that one is the most fun."

Fitz smiled.

"That's actually a perfect gift."

"Really?"

"Yes, really, can I open my gift to see for myself?"

"Yes," she said with a smile, "wait, can you take a picture of my beside my portrait - no, that's selfish, I should let you open your gifts first."

"Olivia stand beside the portrait so I can take your picture," he instructed playfully.

She smiled and walked over to the huge portrait leaned against the wall.

"Say, my fiance is better than your fiance," Fitz said.

"My fiance is better than your fiance," she said with a smile.

Fitz took the pictures and then handed her, her phone back and then he sat on the couch and opened his gifts, he started with the biggest box first, the xbox console and almost 20 individual games to go with it.

"Liv, we have to set this up now, I wanna play, I've never had this before."

"Okay but you have to open the other gifts first."

"You have other gifts too you know,"

"I know but I just can't stop looking at my portrait, I wonder where I'm gonna hang it?" she asked herself.

Fitz opened his second gift, it was a diamond Bvlgari timepiece.

"Liv, I love this, you know I hate it when you spend a lot of money on me, you don't have to."

"Blah, blah, blah, get over yourself and try it on, I think it's fabulous."

"Please don't use the word fabulous," he said jokingly.

"Fine, it's manly, oh so manly, it's still gorgeous though, try it."

As Fitz tried his watch, Olivia opened another one of her gifts. It was a beautiful, extravagant white diamond cuff bracelet, it resembled a mariposa only instead of wings, there were stems of diamonds that protruded from the bracelet. She tried it on her arm and loved it, she was used to Fitz buying her expensive gifts so she didn't complain she just thanked him. They called Gerry and spoke to him briefly and then Olivia texted her friends just to wish them a Merry Christmas as Fitz called a few people of his own.

After opening all their gifts, they headed back to the kitchen to grab their food and bring it to the den while they set up Fitz's new XBox and played as they ate.

Later in the afternoon, when they knew dinner was on it's way, they showered and then sat on the couch, watching 'It's a wonderful life,' as they waited for their delivery.

"It sucks that it's your time of the month," he said randomly.

"Why, because you're horny?" she teased.

"So horny."

She smiled.

"What's my rule?"

"Please don't make me say it?"

"No, what's my rule."

Fitz sighed.

"Your time of the month is your sacred time to bask in your femininity and appreciate your womanhood, that means no sex during your period."

She kissed him then smiled.

"Be glad mine only lasts two days on average, some woman last an entire week."

Fitz chuckled.

"I'd give you a blowjob but that's breaking my own rules," she teased.

There was a knock on the cabin door.

"I'll get it," Fitz said.

He quickly went to the door and grabbed the food and then brought it back over to Olivia.

"Dig in."

They laid on the couch, covered under a blanket and ate dinner together, watching christmas movies as it snowed outside and the heat and light from the fireplace filled the room. It was perfect, the way Olivia always imagined it would be.

* * *

One week later.

They were back in D.C., in the thick of it, still planning a very large wedding, still trying to get pregnant only now, Fitz was going to be in full campaign mode.

It was the day after New year's, Fitz had mentioned to her that they would be having a special guest over for dinner though he was sketchy on the details, she figured it was important so she made it a point of duty to get to the residence on time for dinner.

She first went to the bedroom to drop her purse and laptop and checked her hair and makeup before heading to the dining room. When she walked in, her chin almost fell to the floor, Fitz and Daniel sat opposite each other, conversing and laughing as if they were the best of friends, it was all fake of course, the body language gave them both away. When Fitz saw her he immediately stood up and greeted her with a sweet kiss on the lips before pulling out her chair so she could sit directly beside him, opposite to Daniel who was on the other side of the rectangular table. She was so shocked that she couldn't react, she just took a seat.

"Bonjour Olivia," Daniel greeted.

"Uhm, what's going on?"

Fitz chuckled.

"It's my fault Daniel, I didn't tell Olivia you were coming, I hoped it would be a pleasant surprise but I guess…not" Fitz trailed off.

"I see," said Daniel.

"The servers will be here at any moment," said Fitz, "but if I recall, you were telling me something about MIT?"

Daniel cleared his throat, slightly embarrassed Olivia greeted him so coldly.

"Ah, yes, so professor Confessore told me about a brilliant young scientist, he said he thought we could help each other, I came from a family with a background in mechanics and Olivia was an expert on the field I was studying, we thought we could help each out, so to speak."

There was a knock on the door and the servers entered with trays of food and placed them all around the table and left. Daniel and Fitz grabbed their forks and napkin to eat, Olivia didn't.

"Daniel please," Fitz gestured towards him, "finish the story."

Olivia sat and watched as Fitz and Daniel conversed, laughing as if they were the best of friends, Fitz was so convincing that she believed that Daniel might have thought he was harmless, even friendly but she knew Fitz and he seemed a little too smug, it was bothering her.

"-and so of course you know I come from a rather wealthy family-"

"-You've mentioned that several times but I also know that your rather wealthy family filed for bankruptcy 10 years ago, but that's neither here nor there, I apologize for cutting you off finish the story, it was getting pretty good," Fitz said nonchalantly.

There it was, that's why he was so smug, Olivia knew him too well, he was setting the lamb up for slaughter.

"What?" Daniel asked.

"Nothing, just forget I mentioned it, finished the story."

The room was silent, the only audible sound was the sound of Fitz eating his dinner, either completely oblivious or completely ignoring the death stare Daniel had directed towards him.

"Is that why you brought me here, so you could tell her."

"I could've told her whenever I wanted to, I just wanted to see your face when I did it but that's not why I brought you here. I brought you here so the french police could search your lab and all your other properties without you disturbing them. Since we've already established that you've been broke for the past ten years the next question is how exactly you've managed to fund your rather extravagant lifestyle?"

Fitz let the question hang in there air for a few seconds before answering it himself.

"Chinese triad money. You've been laundering it through your lab for years now, millions of it, which is criminal and being the president of the united states and leader of the free world and all, you can see why I would take exception to that and don't worry about the lab, the french government seized it and they've agreed to hand over the cell accelerator to the U.S. government as gratitude for our aid in handing over documents that were crucial in your indictment, it will be in Olivia's hands and I'm sure she will take great care of it."

Fitz checked his watch.

"If I timed it right and I think I did the FBI should be downstairs right now, waiting for you."

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Fitz called.

Tom entered.

"Mr. president, the FBI-"

"Oh boy I'm good," Fitz said, complimenting himself, "It's okay Tom, tell them he'll be right down."

Fitz smirked and took a sip of his scotch, he was enjoying himself.

"I don't know why you're still here, the FBI is waiting on you in the lobby."

Daniel stood up and slammed his hands against the table.

"You did this because you are threatened by me, the only way you can feel secure is if you lock me away, I will hire the best lawyers-"

"Your assets are frozen, how you gonna do that" Fitz paused, "unless I pardon you from all the crimes committed on U.S. soil and retract the evidence given the french authorities, then I suppose the case would die, I could do that, I mean, I have the power to but I don't want to."

Fitz stood up.

"Tom?" he called loudly.

Seconds later, Tom entered the room.

"Show him where the lobby is."

Fitz took Olivia's hand, he realized she'd been unusually quiet the entire dinner and figured they could talk about it later on, he expected a scolding from her. He helped her out the chair, as he did so Olivia looked at Daniel who was tense with anger, he seemed to be deciding whether or not he wanted to beg for a pardon or fight.

Fitz didn't give him a chance to, the guards entered seconds later and he took Olivia and led her out of the dining room and into their bedroom. They could hear Daniel screaming, trying to resist arrest but they didn't stick around to watch. Once they stepped into the bedroom, Olivia turned and faced Fitz.

"Okay, what just happened?"

He smiled.

"Wow," he said mostly to himself, in satisfaction of how he'd handled Daniel.

"Fitz-"

"When he decided to pay you a visit for your birthday, I decided to have him looked into, found out about the open case against him in France and surprisingly our treasury department's financial crime unit had an open case against him too, I gave France all the evidence we had and in exchange, told them we'd want the cell accelerator when they seized his properties and they agreed, turns out his lab was mostly funded by mob money. It took a little planning to time everything perfectly but I think I did alright and I knew you'd be a little annoyed about the whole arrest thing but since you get the cell accelerator, I know you've always wanted it, I figured you'd give me a pass."

She smiled.

"You thought right, oh my god, I can't believe it's mine, I'm so excited."

"Not right away though, they have to go through the whole process of charging him and his family, trial and all that then, they'll formally be able to hand it over."

"I don't care, it's still mine."

Olivia walked over to the wall where her portrait hung and gazed at it in admiration.

"I feel like I'm on top of the world, I can't explain it, it just, it feels good, like everything is falling perfectly into place."

Fitz chuckled and walked over to her and stood behind her with his hands wrapped around her waist.

"Are you ever going to stop being obsessed with this portrait?"

"No, I can't, it's so beautiful."

"I'm glad you like it."

"I'm glad I like it too."

He kissed her shoulder.

"Since Daniel is no longer a problem for us-"

"-He was never a problem," she interjected

"Well, either way he's gone now."

"Don't you feel a little… bad?"

"Nope, not even a little bit and technically, he was going to jail regardless, I just sped up the process."

"So you're just gonna mow down anyone who comes in your way?"

"No, not everyone, just the people who try to mess with you," he said, not even feigning remorse.

She sighed.

"Okay well, I'd be a hypocrite if I said I didn't like it when you go all darth vader for me," she said with a small chuckle.

"So you admit it huh," he teased.

"Yes but no more talking about him, I still feel bad and I don't wanna dwell on it, why don't we go to the kitchen, I didn't really get to eat because I was too busy watching you gloat so now I'm starving."

"Okay, I'll cook you something."

"Hell no, what are you, tryna poison me."

Fitz laughed.

"Harsh," he said with a chuckle.

She pulled off her shoes and then walked barefeet with Fitz down to the kitchen to find something other than her dinner to eat.

A/N - Sorry if the chapter ended weird and felt quick, I didn't want to drag it out and I really need to move the story forward so it will be a two chapter day.


	65. Chapter 65

Two months later.

Olivia stood in the New York showroom for the Elie Saab couture team waiting for them to bring out her wedding dress.

The wedding was only three and a half weeks away. She and David had sent out the invitations over 6 weeks ago, had cake tasting sessions, approved floral arrangements, choose the song she'd walk down the aisle to, approved the decor and planned the reception. She thought they were doing great considering her work schedule and Fitz's work and campaign schedule were so hectic. She was so busy she had only managed to make it to a few campaign events but it was an experience she would never forget (not that she could). The way thousands of people chanted '4 more years' for him was surreal for her. Sally had to drop out because she had a hard time gaining momentum when Fitz was winning all the primaries with Reston behind him in second place.

Abby, Kamaya, Sahara and Elliot were also in attendance at the fitting. She received the sketches from all designers who offered to design her dress by early January, she loved them all but the Elie Saab was more than love it was magic and she decided that that would be what she wore down the aisle, she just hoped it looked the way she imagine it would in person, given that she had only seen sketches and she knew she was cutting it close by viewing the dress for the first time only three weeks before the wedding but she had spoken in detail with Elie and his team about the dress so she felt like she knew exactly what it would look like.

"Okay Olivia," Elie walked out into the showroom, "close your eyes."

"Okay," Olivia said with a smile.

She closed her eyes and hoped she wouldn't be disappointed.

Elie and his team pulled the screen, revealing Olivia's dress and all it's attachments, the maid of honor and bridesmaid dresses and Sahara's flower girl dress. There was a cameraman in the room, recording the entire interaction as requested by Elie and his team, they agreed however, not to release the footage until after the wedding.

"Okay," Elie said, "open your eyes."

Olivia opened her eyes and took in the dress she would wear down the aisle to marry Fitz. It was perfect, the way she imagined it would be.

"Oh my god, can I try it, it's beautiful," she said, totally flabbergasted.

"Absolutely, the fitters will assist you."

"What do you guys think?" she asked her group of friends.

"I love it," Elliot was the first to say, "but you have to try it, I need to see it on you, it's gorgeous."

"Yes," Abby and Kamaya said in agreement.

"Okay."

Olivia went into the fitting room, followed by Abby, Kamaya, Sahara and the fitter to help them put on their dresses.

It took almost 30 minutes to get them all dressed, Olivia's dress had multiple attachments, it took her the longest. Once she was done, the fitters held her train (which stretched several feet behind her) and walked her back to the showroom filled with mirrors. There was a 4 inch block in front of the mirror, Olivia stepped up and then the assistants spread the dress all around her, the way it would fall if she had heels on and then stepped back so she could see herself in the mirror.

"Wow," Olivia said as she looked over her reflection in the mirror.

Her dress wasn't a blinding white, it was a soft ivory color, somewhere in the middle of white and cream. It was strapless with a fitted bodice top that cupped around her breast without revealing cleavage, every inch of the fabric was embellished with pretty white pearls, crystals and beads. The dress cinched at her waist, accentuating how tiny it was and the skirt of the dress, was made of soft, french, silk tulle and was covered in the same dainty pearlescent embellishments as the bodice of the dress. It was fitted around the hips and butt but as it moved down her body it flowed smoothly to the floor where the beaded tulle formed into a beautiful circular train behind her. It wasn't the traditional puffy bridal gown, it was much more subtle.

Her veil was the exact same color, fabric and had the same pattern of beaded embellishments lining the edges of the fabric. It didn't cover her face, it was almost like a cloak, but it wasn't. There was no hood, instead it laid gingerly over her hair, it flowed over her arms and back and stopped just above her butt. The third attachment of her dress stretched 10 feet behind her to form a long, beautifully embellished train. It was draped loosely around her shoulder and through her elbow, (the way you would drape a scarf around your shoulders if it was cold out) and then it cascade behind her into a stream of tulle.

Olivia loved the dress so much that as she stood, gazing at her reflection in the mirror, she couldn't look away. It had a feel of delicate innocence to it that was overwhelmingly romantic, that, paired with it's body hugging silhouette, combined with the drapes of embellished silk tulle and the veiling made it both an opulent and ethereal with a vintage essence.

"It took us two week to embellish the train," the designer said, breaking her from her train of thought, "the beads were imported from India, the jewels from Spain."

Olivia turned around.

"I love it, it's everything I imagined and more, I need to hug you," Olivia said with a smile.

Elie walked over and gave her a warm hug.

"Olivia you look so beautiful, that dress, it's just… magical," Elliot said.

"I know," she turned back to the mirror, "I love it it couldn't be more perfect."

"Yeah, that dress is amazing," Abby said.

"Quick question Liv, when it's my turn to get married can I borrow this?" Kamaya asked.

"Nope," Olivia said as she chuckled, "I mean, this is not even a dress, it's more than that, it's a whole costume, it's just amazing."

"What about shoes?" Abby asked.

"No one is going to see my shoes, although in a dress like this, it definitely needs to be something high so I can look tall and show off my dress," Olivia responded.

"Well, we designed some special shoes for you," Elie said as he gestured to his assistant to bring them to him, "

The woman ran over bringing over a silk pair of platform shoes with a pretty jewelled ankle strap attached.

"Those are so cute."

"I'm glad you like them,," Elie said with a smile.

The assistant strapped it on her feet and then stepped back.

"They feel good, they're comfortable."

"What about jewelry?" Abby asked.

Elie designed simple, white silk strapless gowns for both Abby and Kamaya to function as their bridesmaid dresses and for Sahara, he designed a sleeveless tulle dress with a bow wrapped around the waist, a typical flower girl dress.

"This dress is enough, Elie and I already discussed jewelry and he said just my diamond earrings would be good."

"Okay yeah, I think that works out great."

Olivia took a deep breath, "wow, this is it, it's perfect, thank you so much, you went above and beyond anything I expected."

"You're welcome," Elie replied.

"And I want to thank your team, you guys are amazing."

They all applauded, mostly congratulating themselves on their work. She hung around for awhile, had Abby take a few pictures of her in her dress and then went back to the fitting room to change. Once she was finished, Elie and his team assured her they would ship the dresses to D.C. within a week.

She spent the day in New York, mostly at David's office going over last minute details in regards to the wedding and reception. She flew back to D.C later in the night. Fitz was at a campaign rally and wouldn't make it back to D.C. till midnight or later so she went to bed by herself.

* * *

A week and a half later.

Olivia had been waiting on her period for almost two weeks. She had such an irregular menstrual cycle that she couldn't really count on her period to indicated if she was pregnant or not but after two weeks, she was ready to take the test.

Fitz was away, in South Carolina at some event so she didn't have to worry about him walking in on her again as he had done on the prior two times she took a pregnancy test.

She found herself sitting on the toilet once again, waiting to hear the ding on her test. It felt like forever had passed and then she finally heard the test ding and picked it up slowly and looked at the screen.

"Oh my god," she said as she jumped up, "yes!"

Olivia had been on the verge of going to see a fertility doctor because she was beginning to think that something had to be wrong because they had been trying for three months but finally, it happened. She wanted to be sure so she went into the cabinet and took another test and when it was positive once again, she was sure she could start celebrating. She didn't know what to do first, she wanted to call Fitz but she didn't want to tell him over the phone, she wanted to see his face when she told him so as much as it pained her, she was going to wait until he came back from the campaign trail later in the night. It was early in the morning, around 8, the usual time she got ready for work but she couldn't fathom being able to focus on work, and she also really needed to know how far along she was so she decided to take a half day off from work and set up and emergency appointment at her ob/gyn.

She rested both hands on her stomach and took a deep breath, still trying to process the good news. It couldn't have come at a better time, with the wedding less than two weeks away, everything seemed to be falling into place perfectly.

She shower quickly, dressed and then stopped by the kitchen and picked up breakfast to take to the doctor's office with her. Once she got the car, she pulled out her cell and called Fitz.

"Good morning," she said cheerfully.

"Morning baby, you heading to work?"

"Yeah, I have a busy week because, I'm preparing to take some time off for the wedding and honeymoon. I need to get stuff done before that."

"Yes, I still can't believe you're marrying me, how did I get so lucky."

"You know, I'm not sure," she teased.

Fitz chuckled.

"It's early, are you still at the hotel?"

"Yeah, I have a little work to do and then go out on the trail, I'll be home by maybe 8 tonight."

"Okay, I was thinking I could have Gregory cook us up a nice dinner, we could eat together in the dining room instead of the bedroom like we usually do."

"Oh are we having someone join us?"

"No, just us."

"Okay, I like the sound of that, I'll try to get back earlier, if possible-"

"No, 8pm sounds perfect."

"Okay then I'll see you at 8 and I won't be late like you usually are, in fact, I predict that I'll be there before you."

She chuckled.

"Fine, we'll see who get's there first."

"Okay, well I have a meeting to get to so I'm gonna run, I'll talk to you later okay."

"Okay, love you."

"Love you too," Fitz replied.

Olivia hung up and ate her breakfast as she headed to her doctor. She spent the morning thinking of how exactly she would break the news to Fitz, she wanted it to ooze pomp and circumstance, it was their first child, it was a big deal, especially after waiting three months for the news.

When she got to her doctor's office, she entered through the private entrance, the way she always did and sat in a private room waiting for her doctor and after waited for a few minutes, her doctor walked in and greeted her.

"Dr. Pope," she said as she walked over and greeted Olivia.

"Please Dr. Connor, call me Olivia."

"I know, it's a habit," she said with a smile, "come on back, let;s take a look at you."

Olivia followed her back to the private office and took a seat. Her doctor sat by her desk.

"Okay Olivia, why did you want to see me today, what was so urgent," she said with a chuckle.

"I'm pregnant, I wanted to take an ultrasound to see what's going on in there, I also wanted to start taking prenatals as soon as possible."

"Wow, so that's why you didn't want to tell me over the phone, well first, congratulations, when did you find out?"

"This morning."

"Wow, and is this the first time you've been pregnant?"

"Yes, it's my first time, I am very excited, if you couldn't tell by how quickly I ran here after taking the test," Olivia said with a chuckle.

Dr. Connor nodded in agreement, "I can see you're excited so, you know the drill, just lay on the table and lift your top for me, I just need a few seconds to get some equipment."

"Okay," Olivia replied.

The doctor left and Olivia climbed on the doctor's exam table and waited. Her doctor came back moment later. As she set up the ultrasound machine, she spent a few minutes asking her essential questions. Once the machine was up and running, Olivia raised her shirt to reveal her stomach and smiled when the doctor spread gel across her stomach.

Moments later the images appeared, she looked at the small pea on screen and smiled.

"Wow," she said in amusement.

"Based on the date of your last period and what I'm seeing here you look to be 5 weeks pregnant."

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing."

Her doctor moved the transducer around her stomach.

"Do you mind giving me a copy of the ultrasound picture?"

"Sure, I'll print it for you right now."

She spent almost an hour at the office, after the ultrasound, she collected her prenatals and then headed to work.

Later in the evening, she got back to the residence a little late but it was on purpose. She headed straight to the dining room, as quickly as her legs could take her and when she opened the door she found him sitting by the table, sipping his glass of scotch.

"Hi," she said nervously.

"Hi," he returned with a smile, "you're late."

He stood up and pulled out the chair directly beside him for her. She walked over to him and greeted him with a soft kiss and then placed a gift bag on the table.

Fitz sat down and she took a seat beside him.

"Whose gift is that? Is it mine?"

Olivia smiled, "yes, open it."

Fitz raised his eyebrow, "okay."

He opened the gift bag and pulled out a rather large wrapped box. He pulled off the gift wrap and inside the box, he found another wrapped box.

"Seriously?" He said with a smile.

"Come on, keep going."

He smiled and tore off the wrap and found another box inside it.

"Keep going," Olivia said again.

Fitz continued unwrapped the gifts.

"I can't believe you wrapped all of these."

Olivia watched as he continued opening the gifts. He finally got down to the last box, she covered her mouth and smiled as he opened the box.

Fitz's mouth fell open and stayed open when he saw the ultrasound picture. He stayed like that for a moment and then looked up.

"Are you-"

"-Yes, I'm pregnant."

He grabbed her and practically threw her in the air.

"YES! YES! YES!"

She squealed and wrapped her arms around his neck. He spun her around.

"I'm 5 weeks."

"You have no idea how happy you've made me, I don't know what to do with myself, I'm so excited."

He kissed her, over and over again, before she got the chance to respond.

"When did you find out?"

"This morning I took the test and it was positive and I wanted to be sure so I took another one, you know I have like 20 of them in the cabinet and that one was positive too and I wanted to tell you right away but you were all the way in Carolina and I didn't want to tell you over the phone so I decided to wait and I wanted to go to the doctor just check things out and make sure things were okay and everything's perfect."

"Of course it is," he said as he gave her another kiss, "I love you, so much."

"I love you too," she said with a smile.

He finally let her down the ground. He kneeled before her and kissed her stomach then he nestled his face against her stomach, he heard a loud growl and jumped back.

"Sorry I'm hungry."

He chuckled and stood up and cleared her path so she could sit and then he sat beside her. He pulled the dome off the plates, the food was a little cold but Olivia didn't care, she dug in. Fitz was still too excited to eat.

"So, I mean, did you get morning sickness of something, is that why you took the test this time?"

"No, my period just never came and at first I didn't want to rush and take it because I have an an irregular period so I wanted to wait a couple weeks to see if it would come but when it didn't I had to check."

"The doctor gave you prenatals right?"

"Yeah, I start taking them tomorrow."

"Perfect, I want to make sure both you and my daughter are healthy."

She laughed and shook her head.

"We don't know yet and I think it's going to be a boy."

"It's going to be a girl, I'm going to keep saying it until it happens."

She shoved a piece of chicken in her mouth and chewed.

"What about your bachelor party, what's going on with that?"

"I've been married before, I don't need a bachelor party."

"Well I'm having one, Abby has like 3 strippers that are coming."

Fitz couldn't focus on anything but the news she'd just given him.

"Can I come to your next doctor's appointment, I really want to go."

"Of course, you can come to as many doctor's appointments as you'd like but we have to be careful because I don't want anymore finding out until after the wedding."

"So you haven't told anyone?"

"No, I wanted to tell you before anyone else with the exception of my doctor."

He smiled.

"If it's a girl can we name her Juliet?"

She chuckled.

"I like Juliet it's pretty, but I really love Amabella, ever since you told me that was your grandma's name, it's so pretty and if it's a boy Logan, I really like that name."

"Logan, Jesse, Adrian, Riley, Casey, Jordan, Drew, Tyler and probably mostly Avery are all names that could be girl names, why don't we just cut to the chase and call him Isabella, that way people won't be confused."

Olivia laughed.

"Fair point, what about Arthur?"

"I like that but do you remember the 'name game': '"Art-Art-bo-Bart, Banana-Fana-fo-Fart."

She shook her head and laughed.

"I like Jack, it's a solid name," he suggested.

"I like that too, what about John."

"John Grant sounds like the sort of name they put on the fake cards in the credit card commercial."

"I think we're going to have a lot of fun coming up with a name."

He smiled.

"Me too."

He finally took a bite of his food.

"Quick question, you haven't felt movement or anything- you know what- it's too soon, don't even answer that. I'm pretty sure that's not possible."

"It's way too soon, at five weeks the baby is the size of a sesame seed, which you should've learned in high school," she teased.

"I'm a lawyer not a doctor, I don't remember that," he said, laughing.

"Do you remember what it was like when Mellie was pregnant?"

"No, she completely shut me out, however I did help her with delivery though, which now that I think about it I can already picture you giving birth."

"Don't remind me about that part," she joked.

They chatted as they ate and once they were done, they headed back to the bedroom. They showered together and then joined each other in bed afterwards. As Fitz laid flat, Olivia got on top of him and straddled him.

"You've been gone for two days and I've really missed you and other parts of your body."

"I thought you said no sex until the honeymoon, that's so cliche by the way."

"I did say that but it's been two weeks and I'm ravenous- no-no-no, I can't break my own rule."

She got off him and laid flat beside him.

"You can break your rule on top of me anytime you want."

"Stop," she said as she slapped his arm.

He pulled her close and spoon her.

"Have I mentioned to you how much I love you and how happy you've made me."

"Only...alot," she said with a smile, "I love you too."

She turned around so she could face him and took her time kissing him until they both settled in a comfortable position and fell asleep a little while later.


	66. Chapter 66

A/N - Hey everyone. This is a longer than usual chapter but I really wanted you all the experience the wedding in details and moments. Please let me know your thoughts afterwards. Enjoy.

The next morning when Olivia woke up, Fitz was sitting beside her, working on his laptop.

"What are you doing?"

"Do you know that there's a website that tells you what to expect with every week of pregnancy, it says you'll be having morning sickness soon and also I just learned that morning sickness doesn't necessarily happen in the morning."

She smiled and puckered her lips for a kiss, he leaned down and kissed her on the lips and then stomach.

"Morning and morning to you too my little princess," he said with a smile.

"It's going to be a boy, I can feel it."

"We'll see," he said as he kissed her again.

She stood up and stretched then headed to the bathroom to begin getting ready for her day. Fitz gave her a little time in the bathroom by herself because he read online that pregnant women needed privacy, he wasn't sure if it was true but he decided to abide it for a while then joined her shortly after so they could get ready together.

* * *

As the wedding inched closer, the days became more and more hectic and before she knew it, it was two days before her wedding and she was heading to her surprise bachelorette party that really wasn't a surprise because she knew it was happening for weeks before. As she walk down the hall to her apartment, she could hear music coming from the room, she knocked on the door and waited for them to let her in, she had given her only key to Abby for the purposes of the party. It was really the last time she was going to be at her apartment, she had agreed for her lease to be terminated in a few weeks because she would no longer be needing it, as it stood currently, the apartment was mostly empty except for a few articles of furniture. As she waited, the music cut off and door opened, inside the apartment was dark, she walked in then suddenly the lights turned on and everyone jumped out.

"Surprise!"

She wasn't surprised, the music was a dead giveaway but she was happy and excited and she didn't expect that many people to be there, many of her old girlfriends from New York were there.

"Wow, oh my god, I can't believe all of you guys are here."

Olivia looked around, she'd never seen that many penises in her life. Penis lollipops, hats, streamers, a penis cake.

Abby ran up to her and hugged her.

"Surprise bitch, do you like it?"

"I love it," she said with a smile.

Elliot and Kamaya and a few others walked over to her, Elliot handed her a glass of champagne.

"Oh, no thank you, I pregamed before I got here."

"Yeah but drink more, I'm tryna get you in the floor girl."

Elliot dropped to the floor and danced his way back up.

"I'll drink in a few just let me say hi to everyone."

Olivia made the rounds, greeting everyone and catching up, she filled her plate with snacks and ate as she walked and talked and laughed. About an hour after she arrived there was a knock on the door.

"Ooh, I wonder who that could be," Elliot said innocently.

He ran over to the door and opened it, two police officers walked in.

"Good evening sir, we're looking for a fugitive, can we take a look around," one man said.

"Oh yes you can," Elliot said as he licked his lips.

The two men entered and walked around, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"Has anyone seen Carolyn?"

Olivia smiled.

"Me," she said excitedly as she raised her hands.

Everyone laughed as the officers walked over to her. One man took her hands and walked her over to a chair that the other man placed in the center of the room. She took a seat and placed her food on the floor.

One of the strippers ripped his shirt open.

"Ahh," she screamed in delight, as he took her hand and ran it up his bare chest, "smooth dark chocolate, I like it," she said as she giggled.

Elliot walked up to the other stripper and dropped a napkin on the floor.

"Oops, can you get that for me?"

The man bent over and picked up the napkin as Elliot and everyone else watched his ass as he bent over.

After Olivia got her lap dance, Elliot's, Abby, Kamaya took turns getting theirs. They played games, danced, laughed; they tried to get her to drink but she managed to get out if every time.

* * *

...Meanwhile back at the white house, she arranged for a few of her male friends (Stephen, Huck and Harrison) along with Fitz's friends to surprise him with a makeshift bachelor party, there was no pomp and fuss, just bottles of scotch so they could drink and chat.

* * *

The next morning, as Olivia was knocked out on the couch on top of Abby, she heard her phone ringing incessantly. She ignored it the first few times but it wouldn't stop.

"Olivia please answer your phone," Kamaya said as she yawned and tried to go back to sleep.

She shrugged and grabbed it off the floor

"Hello?" She said groggily.

"Olivia where are you, I've been calling you all morning, we were suppose to meet at the hotel an hour ago."

Olivia looked at the time on her phone.

"Shit, I'm so sorry David, I overslept, I'll be there as soon as I can just- uh- just start without me."

"It's okay, take your time, I'll see what I can get done without you and then when you get here we'll finish everything else."

"Okay."

It was the day before the wedding, she had a wedding rehearsal in the evening but she also had a lot of last minute issues to deal with and decor of the venues to look over just to make sure it was exactly how she wanted it, because she knew it was going to be so crazy, she decided against having a rehearsal dinner, she wanted to save all the festivities for her actual wedding day.

"Abby, Kamaya, Elliot, get up, we're late!"

She stood up and stretched, she was so tired that her internal clock completely shut off as she slept, she was usually very good at waking up on time without an alarm and she wondered if it was her pregnancy that was the cause.

Abby popped her head up, "shit!"

They all jumped up and took turns showering and getting ready to go to the hotel where they be staying for the rest of the day and the morning of the wedding, they rented the penthouse and most of the top floor for the bridal party and everyone who would be helping with hair, makeup and styling and other members of David's team who were responsible for making sure the wedding went off without a hitch.

It took them just under two hours to ready themselves and travel to the hotel where they spent most of the day going over last minutes details. In the evening, they headed to the reception venue to make sure sure the decor was coming along exactly as planned and afterwards headed to the cathedral for wedding rehearsals. When Olivia walked into the church, Fitz was already at the altar, speaking with one of the planners. He had his back turned her, so she walked quickly down the aisle and stood behind him. She stuck him in the back with her finger.

"Oh shit," he said as she jumped up. When he turned around and realized it was her, he smiled and gave her a kiss on the lips.

"I hate that you won't let me call you?"

"It's tradition."

"No it's not, you're just doing it to drive me crazy."

"Is it working?"

"Yes!"

She chuckled.

"Good. Did you have fun at your 'bachelor party'?"

"I told you I didn't want one but I'm glad you did that anyways, it was fun. We drank and talked, that was pretty much it but it was good."

"Well, I got a dance from two strippers, so I think I win."

Fitz laughed and shook his head.

"I hope you enjoyed it because the only person that's gonna be giving you dances from now on is me."

"And I'm totally okay with that."

Soon after, they were joined by the wedding party and David and his team as they went through the rehearsal. It took them a couple of hours, to go the motions of the wedding. It was simple, Olivia didn't want everyone doing a long walk down the aisle, it would just be Sahara: the flower girl, Maxime: the ring bearer before she did her walk. Fitz, the bridesmaids and groomsmen would enter from the side entrance to the altar.

After the rehearsal, Fitz walked her back to her car to take her to the hotel. Abby and the rest of her friends were still in the church so they had a moment alone. As Fitz held the door open for her, she could tell that something was on his mind.

"Go ahead and ask me, you know you want to."

He smiled.

"Just want to make sure, you're okay, this is what you want?"

She wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Tomorrow I'm going to walk down the aisle, in the most beautiful dress you've ever seen, if you don't cry when you see me in it, I'm leaving you at the altar."

Fitz chuckled.

"We're gonna say our vows and we're gonna be husband and wife and then after all the pomp and fuss we're going to Isle Amabella and enjoy our honeymoon."

"By the way, I'm sorry it's only two days."

"It's okay, you're in the middle of a campaign, we've talked about this, I understand, we have only two days but it's gonna be great so don't complain, now kiss me and our baby goodbye so I can get back to the hotel and sleep, I'm exhausted."

Fitz chuckled.

"I love it when you say 'our baby'."

He stooped down and kissed her stomach and then stood and kissed her lips.

"I love you and I'll see you at the altar."

"I love you too."

* * *

 **Wedding day.**

Olivia woke up early in the morning, she could barely sleep through the night just from sheer excitement.

She laid in bed for almost an hour before she got up and brushed her teeth and took her prenatal tablets. Around 8am, the hotel delivered a breakfast spread for everyone and set it up in the room, by that time everyone began waking up to start the day.

The wedding was at 2pm and the reception at 5pm, until then, she had a lot to get done.

By 9, David and his team arrived for breakfast. They all took a plate and grabbed food then sat on the patio of the hotel room to eat.

"Okay, so hair and makeup starts at 10:30, the manicurist is coming at 10:30 as well," David said as he ate.

"Okay, yeah, I remember, uhm...you have the images from my second fitting right, when we did the makeup and hair looks?"

"Yeah, we have them."

"Okay when you get the time can you give them to me, I want to add them to the album."

"Okay, no problem."

Olivia fed a strawberry to Sahara who was sitting in her lap and then gave Max a piece of smoked salmon from her plate, which he loved.

"I feel so sorry for brides that have to plan their weddings without all the help I got, it's so much work," she said with a sigh.

"Well, you're welcome, I'm just glad I got three days off from work for this," Abby said.

"Yeah, how did you get three days off, you too Elliot and Kamaya?"

"You're going to be the future first lady, which boss was going to tell me not to take the days off for the wedding."

"You're welcome, three whole days off thanks to me," Olivia quipped.

"Yeah but you're working us out for the three days so I might as had been at work," Elliot added.

Olivia laughed.

"Ungrateful!"

They sat laughing, talking about little things until it was around 10. Olivia went to shower first and washed her hair then put on her white silk robe with the word: 'bride' bedazzled at the back. She wore a white underwear and half bra and then pulled up the lace garter around her thigh, a gift from Elliot. Once she was dressed she went to the hair and makeup station that they had set up for her.

They had the picture of her hair and makeup look that they had tested out a few days earlier to see how it would look with the flashing of cameras and in video, it was mounted on the vanity to guide the makeup and hair team headed by Tucker and Carson.

She decided to get a manicure and pedicure first, in the an ivory colored nail polish (as they had decided days earlier) first because she didn't want to do her makeup too early and then have it get stale.

After her manicure and pedicure, she stood sat to give it some time to dry and then she had one of the assistants from David's team add light bronzer her skin. During that time, she tried to keep Sahara occupied because Nanny and mother were busy getting their makeup done for the wedding.

"Auntie Va look," Sahara said.

Olivia looked down and say Sahara putting a lipstick she'd grabbed from the makeup station on Max's teeth.

"No Sahara," she said as she laughed.

One of the assistants took the lipstick from Sahara and then continued bronzing Olivia.

Just around 11:30 am, it was Olivia's turn to get into the makeup chair. She sat down and waited as Tucker prepared her foundation to apply to her face.

"I hope you guys make sure you have enough time to get yourselves ready for the wedding."

"Yeah, of course, we should be done with you by 12:30 and then we can run back to our rooms and get ready."

"Which limo are you taking to the wedding?" she asked.

"I have to ask David, I can't remember or maybe I think he emailed it to me, I have to check," Tucker replied.

He began airbrushing the foundation onto her face as Carson applied product to her hair and straightened it.

When she heard Maxime barking, she looked over and saw one of the assistants trying to dress him in his little doggy tux.

"Aww Maxime, be a good boy for mommy," she called out.

He dropped his body to the ground and played dead, not wanting to get dressed. Olivia started laughing and rolled her eyes and left the assistant to struggle with her spoiled puppy.

After Tucker finished airbrushing the foundation, he applied her rosy eye makeup and blush to her cheeks and then soft pink glossy lipstick to her lips. She wanted her makeup very natural and pretty and she was happy with the result. Once Carson finished straightening her hair, he added the clips that were meant to hold hold her veil in place once they attached it.

By the time Olivia was done with her hair and makeup, Abby, Kamaya and Elliot were all dressed so was Sahara and Maxime. She went to a separate room where her dressed was stored, she was accompanied by fitters and a seamstress whose sole purpose was to help her to get into the dress, especially since she didn't want her makeup to ruin it.

She stepped up on the small block, they took the dress from the garment bag and opened it up in front of her and then they helped her to step into it and then zipped it up. They didn't attach the train, they decided they'd wait until they got to the cathedral because it was so heavy and delicate. The seamstress helped her to attach her veil to her smooth and silky pulled back hair that flowed down her back, they put on her diamond studs earrings. She decided to wear sandals to the cathedral and change to her heels in the limo.

When she was dressed, she walked back out to the living room of their penthouse suite where Abby, Kamaya and Elliot were waiting to see her final look.

"Okay, how do I look?" she asked as she walked out.

"Beautiful," Kamaya and Elliot said.

"Amazing," Abby said.

Abby and Kamaya wore their silk gowns with with hair wrapped up with white flowers attached to their hair. Elliot who was apart of the bridal party and technically a bridesmaid wore a tux, he would be standing beside Abby and Kamaya at the altar.

"Thank you," Olivia said with a smile.

She walked over to the full mirror and looked over her appearance once more.

"I love this dress, so much." she turned around and looked at her butt and then laughed, 'um where's David?"

"He'll be back soon, he's getting dressed, so is Tucker and Carson and a few other people. David doesn't want you leaving the room because the media is crazy outside and the last thing you want is for them to get a picture of you before you get to the cathedral," Abby said.

"Yeah, he gave me the talk already."

"Are you nervous?" Kamaya asked.

"Uhm, no, I wouldn't say nervous, I'm excitedly, maybe I'll get nervous when I actually see him.'

They waited for a little while until everyone gathered in Olivia's suite and then they made their way down to the back entrance of the hotel. One of David's assistant's held her dress the entire way. They all helped her into the limo, of which there were three, Olivia and her bridal party, Sahara, David, Max and Sahara's nanny were all in one Limo, most of the staff including Tucker, Carson and the rest of David's team were in the others.

On the way to the cathedral, they fastened Olivia's train around her arms and they changed her shoes. Abby had all three white rose bouquets for the weddings and gave one to Olivia and the other to Kamaya. The cathedral wasn't very far away from the hotel and they arrived at 1:55pm and even from inside the limo, Olivia could hear the shutter of the cameras around her.

David was the first to exit the limo, he ran up the long white carpet that went up the steps of the cathedral and led straight to the altar. David ran in to make sure a few things were in order before he came back to the limo to have them exit.

He opened the door, "okay guys, just like rehearsals, Abby, Kamaya, Elliot, you guys are going down the side hall and when you get the music cue, you walk."

"Got it," Abby said.

"The groomsmen are all waiting on the other side of the altar," David said again, "I have the rings."

He attached the small box with Fitz and Olivia's rings around Max's collar.

Olivia had bought Fitz's ring a few months earlier from Cartier. It was a simple gold band like he'd told her he wanted but she added diamonds to the band just because she thought it needed bling.

"I'm going to take Max with me okay."

"Okay," Olivia replied.

David opened the door wider but it was still slightly blocked because of secret service. Abby was the first to step out. She walked up the steps as the cameras flashed and stopped in the lobby of the church, Kamaya followed then Elliot then Sahara with her basket of red rose petals accompanied by her nanny. Once they were all in the cathedral David returned to the limo, his assistants exited and then they helped her out of the car and fixed her dress. Once she was in view of the photographers they went crazy. The cameras flashed blindingly as she walked up the steps. The news crews were there as well, broadcasting live. Her dress trailed behind her as walked up the steps and made her way into the lobby.

Abby, Elliot and Kamaya had already left to the side entrance of the altar where they'd be walking in shortly.

It took them a while before David had everything in order and Olivia heard the music signaling the entrance of the bridesmaid and groomsmen begin to play. David stood with his earpiece in his ear waiting to for the signal to open the big double door into the sanctuary. Moments later he got it and his assistants open the door. He walked Max to the entrance and just like they'd been training him to do for the few weeks, he walked down the aisle with the rings attached to his collar and once he was close enough to Fitz he broke into a run and ran straight to his feet begging to be petted for his good work. The audience laughed as Fitz picked Max up and took the rings from his collar and handed them to Gerry who was right by his side. David then sent Sahara down the aisle, she walked and with her basket of flowers petals but instead of throwing them on the floor, she sprinkled them over her head. The crowd laughed as they watch Sahara dance her way down the aisle, showering herself with rose petals.

The orchestra began playing Debussy's: Claire De Lune which was Olivia's cue.

"Okay, Olivia your turn."

Her legs suddenly felt like Jello.

"Oh no, oh my god," Olivia was about to kneel on the ground but David held her.

"Deep breath sweetie, deep breath and then walk down that aisle and go marry your man."

She nodded and then took a deep breath.

"What if I trip?"

"You won't trip."

"Oka, you're just saying that to make me feel better, it's working say it again."

"You won't trip."

She smiled and took another deep breath and then she took a few steps around the corner and stopped when she reached the huge double door. She could see everything.

She saw Fitz, handsome and tall, in an exquisite tux waiting for her at the altar. The brown wooden benches in the sanctuary were replaced with hand crafted white wooden chair with white ribbons tied around the backs. It was almost like a flower show, white roses, green hydrangeas and other stem flowers filled the sanctuary. They hung from the ceiling, they lined the walls and their was a beautiful wall at the wall covered in white roses. The orchestra sat in their black suits with their gold instruments playing beautiful, velvety music to the right of the altar behind where Abby, Kamaya and Elliot stood. Even the smell inside the sanctuary was delectable, it smelled like fresh cut flowers.

She took a few steps forward and entered the sanctuary and everyone turned their head to see her at the exact same moment and then the audience stood. She looked up the aisle and looked at Fitz once more, this time he saw her too and his mouth fell open and the he smiled.

She was finally able to truly calm down and then she walked down the aisle slowly with her dress flowing behind her. Once she reached the steps, Fitz walked down and took her hands and kissed it

"You look beautiful," he said with a smile.

"Thank you."

He escorted her up the steps to their spot on the stage.

They had originally planned to record the ceremony for their own private use and keep the tape for themselves but after massive outpouring of complaints from the public and a petition with almost a million signatures demanding it be broadcast live they gave in so all the major cable new networks from across the country were there as well on the top deck of the sanctuary, recording from above.

Olivia and Fitz stood across from each other with the priest between them.

"Please be seated," the priest announced. He had a small hidden mic attached to his robe so everyone in the huge audience could hear.

"I welcome everyone here today, friends, family, colleagues, allies. We are congregate today to witness and celebrate the marriage of President Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III and Olivia Carolyn Pope. We are not here to mark the start of a relationship however, we are where to celebrate a bond that already exists."

The priest paused.

"Today, they will declare this bond formally, and publicly…" Olivia and Fitz couldn't take their eyes off each other as the priest spoke. Both their eyes were filled with water and emotion just in appreciation of everything that'd they'd been through together to make it to that point. It was almost as if they weren't standing in front of a 2,000 person crowd and millions of people watching all over the world. Olivia tried to zone back into what the priest was saying after realizing she hadn't been listening for quite some time, " two people who slipped briskly into an intimacy from which they never recovered. I have been the spiritual counsellor for President Grant for many years and his mother and father before than and his grandfather before that, when I asked him, tell me about her, tell me about the woman you're going to marry, he said: she is the finest, loveliest, tenderest, and most beautiful person I have ever known and even that, is an understatement. That motivated me to want to meet Ms. Pope, I wanted to see them together, out of curiousity I must admit. After meeting them, I got the sense that they loved each other, not driven by necessity, by the "blaze of passion" often falsely ascribed to love. They loved each other because everything around them willed it, the trees and the clouds and the sky over their heads and the earth under their feet. Perhaps their surrounding world, took more delight in their love than they themselves did and that is the magic and the phenomenon of love."

The priest paused, it was time for the vows.

"Fitzgerald, do you take Olivia to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

"I do," Fitz said with a smile.

"Olivia, do you take Fitzgerald to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

"I do," Olivia said with a smile.

It was time to exchange rings, the priest opened his palm with both rings in his hand.

"Then it is time for you to exchange rings, these rings, are a tangible symbol of vows you just made to each other, wear them everyday with honor and pride, wear them as a reminder of the love you two hold for each other, wear them, as a reminder of this very moment, etched in history."

"President Grant," the priest said.

Fitz reach over and took Olivia's ring from the priest, "with this ring, I thee wed." he said as he placed the ring on Olivia's finger.

"Dr. Pope."

Olivia reached over and placed the ring on Fitz finger, "with this ring, I thee wed."

There was a small pulpit with their certificate of marriage and a pen.

"Olivia and Fitzgerald, will you please come forward and sign your names to the certificate of marriage? With this act, your marriage becomes legally binding in the eyes of the State."

The both stepped forward and sighed.

"By the power vested in me by the great State of California, I hereby pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

Fitz smiled mischievously and then wrapped his arm around her waist and picked her up. Olivia chuckled and she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, soft and gingerly on the lips. The congregation stood and cheered.

"I love you," he whispered into her ear as he hugged her.

"I love you too," she whispered back.

"Family, friends, colleagues, I present to you for the first time Mr. and Mrs. Grant."

The orchestra began playing again as everyone greeted them as a new couple. They made the rounds, greeting everyone. The Queen of England that sat front row was the first guest to greet them, she gave Olivia a kiss on the cheek and congratulated them and then they made their way down the row. They were stuck in the sanctuary for more than an hour talking and laughing until David took them out to the cherry blossom garden for pictures. The bridal party and Fitz's groomsmen which consisted of Gerry and two other long time childhood friends of his that Olivia had met on several occasions.

"Okay everyone, these pictures need to look fit for the cover of vogue," David said.

Fitz walked Olivia over to the spot that David had been directing them to go to.

"First of all, this dress, is...sorcery. It's unreal, you look unreal. You're just so beautiful."

"Thank you, husband," she said with a smile, "Tom Ford really did his thing, that Tux is amazing, have you seen your ass?"

"No but I'll take you word for it."

"Okay, I need portraits of the husband and wife."

Fitz and Olivia stood together in the sea of green grass and pink cherry blossoms trees as their personal wedding photographers took pictures of them. Fitz had his arm around her as she stood facing him with her hand against his chest. He couldn't stop kissing her, it was intrinsic.

After a while, they were joined by the wedding party and they all took pictures together. After an hour, they left the cathedral and headed back to the hotel just for a little while before they headed to the reception.

* * *

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome Mr. and Mrs. Grant," Cyrus said into the mic.

Olivia and Fitz walked into the room to a round of applause.

It was just as she'd imagined it, she looked up at the clear glass ceiling and saw the evening sky. White and green floral arrangements on every table with dainty white chairs and marigold satin ribbons tied around them. Most if not all of the guest who were invited to the reception had arrived and were sitting around their round tables. Just like the cathedral, flowers hung from the ceiling, like vines hung from trees in a jungle. Firefly lights were draped around the flowers making the room feel light and natural. Olivia and Fitz walked to the wedding party's table at the front of the room on a platform, they climbed the five steps and took their seats in the center of the table. She looked to the side where their huge five tiered, wedding cake with pink, red, yellow, orange, purple flower decor sat on full display, it was gorgeous and the pastry bar beside it had all manner of of cupcakes, chocolates and other candies and pastries for everyone to try.

The orchestra and band played together with the music that played through the speakers.

They ate first, after their three course meal, the music became livelier and Fitz stood up and asked Olivia to dance.

"Can I take my wife for a dance?" he asked.

"Absolutely."

He took her hand and walked her down the steps to the open ballroom space to dance. He lifted her in the air and spun her around before he pulled her close to his chest and held her as they moved slowly to the beat.

' _While I'm far away from you my baby  
I know it's hard for you my baby  
Because it's hard for me my baby  
And the darkest hour is just before dawn_

 _Each night before you go to bed my baby  
Whisper a little prayer for me my baby  
And tell all the stars above  
This is dedicated to the one I love."_

As Olivia and Fitz were dancing to the slow tempoed song more people joined them on the dance floor. He held her so tight that no one dared to break them up or ask to dance with either of them, they just danced, completely consumed by each other and oblivious to what was going on around them.

After a while, David stood on stage and dinged his glass signalling it was time to cut the cake. Olivia and Fitz walked over to the cake table, at David's instruction they took the knife and after the entire room counted down they cut their cut to another round of applause. Fitz took a small fork at the table and dug it into the portion they had cut and then fed the piece to Olivia. He use the fork and tease her, moving it side to side as she followed.

"Come on greedy, I know you want cake, give my daughter some cake," he said so only she could hear as he gave her the cake.

"Nom, nom, nom," he teased as she laughed with her mouth filled with cake.

She took the fork and as fed him cake as well.

After the cake cutting they went back to their seats for toasts. The waiters walked around with champagne, filling everyone's glass and apple cider from those who didn't want or couldn't drink champagne, Olivia included. Once everyone had a filled glass the raised it in the air to Olivia and Fitz and then applauded.

Once they calmed down, Abby stood up and David handed her the mic.

"I have some remarks I prepared, but I kind of remember it all so…" she placed the notes down, "I've known Olivia for a really long time, about 10 years and I can honestly say that you're my sister. I don't think I count on my actual family as much as I count on you, when I didn't have a place to stay, you took me in, you put me through college and med school, you supported me all the way, financially, emotionally, educationally, I'm serious, she had to tutor me at one time."

The crowd laughed.

"I wouldn't be alive today if it weren't for you, in Ethiopia, those guys were going to kill me but you begged for my life when I was too busy crying and feeling sorry for myself to do so. You helped me escape when you knew you couldn't and that makes you my hero. You're the most selfless, most brilliant, loyal, loving, beautiful inside and out person and I know and I'm so honored to be your maid of honor and I'm even more honor to be your friend and someday when you have a baby, I'm honored to be the godmother, I called it, so no one else can try to be the godmother, I'm looking at you Kamaya."

Olivia laughed and stood up and gave Abby a tight hug.

"I love you Abbs."

"I love you too Liv."

Abby held the mic at her mouth, "by the way Mr. President, you're great too, I really like you too."

The crowd laughed, so did Fitz.

Gerry stood up and David took the mic from Abby and handed it to Gerry.

"Dad, Liv, I wanted to congratulate you both. Dad you're pretty much the best father that anyone could possibly ask for and Olivia you're the best step-mom anyone could ask for so I'm happy that I have you both."

Gerry walked around his father and gave Olivia a hug and then Fitz and then took his seat.

Elliot stood up after being handed the mic.

"Congratulations to you both, make lots of babies and I wish you a long and happy marriage."

A few other people to turns standing to give their toast and then Olivia to the mic and stood so she could address the audience.

"My turn," she said into the mic as she turn to Fitz. "on behalf of myself and my husband, I want to thank you all for coming. It's a great feeling, being around family and friends, to feel love and friendship, and an even greater feeling to be here with the man I love. Before I met Fitz, I was in the winter of my life, it seemed like travelling to new places, meeting new people were my only summer and in that way it was almost as if I was on endless world tour and the memories of these foreign people and places were the only thing that sustained and distracted me from my harsh and cold winter. My mother always told me I had a chameleon soul, no fixed point, just an inner indecisiveness and wide and wavering as the ocean. I dreamt of being a nomad, never wanting to settle or be still, never wanting to truly be known or understood, mostly because I never thought I'd ever meet someone who could, and then of course, I met Fitz and then I saw those dreams dashed and divided like a million stars in the night sky and a new dream emerged, one with you by my side, old and gray. I wanted to settle with you, I wanted to be still with you, I wanted you to know every part of me and understand it, and you did, better than I imagined anyone could."

Olivia paused.

"You are a truly magnificent man, charismatic, electric, magnetic, you walk into a room and everyone feels your presence, everyone turns their head and I think that, with everything life has to offer a man as magnificent as yourself, I'm glad you've decided to spend it with me. I love you."

Olivia caressed his cheek and kissed him.

"I love you too," Fitz said, he eyes filled with love and emotion.

Olivia heard sniffling and turned around to see Elliot bawling his eyes out.

"I'm sorry that was just so beautiful," he said as he blew his nose.

Olivia laughed and hugged Elliot, "I'll give a great speech at your wedding too."

"I'll only get married if you let me wear your dress."

Everyone laughed and the mood moved from somber to light.

Olivia handed the mic to Fitz and he stood.

"First of all, I just need to say that was such a beautiful speech and I don't think I'll forget a word of it for as long as I live and also, I'll be launching a full investigation into who wrote that speech Olivia becuase I don't think it was you and I think it's unfair that I have to follow that."

Olivia held her stomach as she belly laughed loudly, so did most of the audience.

"I kid, I kid, but uhm… it's a remarkable thing to meet someone who accepts you for who you are, who loves you without expectations or conditions, someone who makes you feel as though your flaws are no flaws at all, to love and be loved, is to feel the sun from both sides and with you Livie, I feel the sun from both sides, I'm basking in an everlasting summer with no winter on the horizon. I love you and I promise to cherish you forever."

Olivia stood up and kissed him as the audience applauded.

"I love you."

David took the mic and then music began playing again. They went back to the floor to dance. Followed by Gerry and Kenna, Abby and Stephen and a few other couples.

After a while, there were fireworks that they could see through the glass ceiling and everyone cheered. It was truly a magical night.

After the fireworks, it was time for Fitz and Olivia to embark on their honeymoon. They said goodbye, waved to the crowd of gathered guest and then they left the venue and headed on a long journey to Isle Amabella.

A/N- I'll be ending this story soon, just a heads up.


	67. Chapter 67

Hey everyone, so as I had mentioned at the end of the last chapter, I will be ending this story soon. I love this story and I do have a lot more to write but it's approaching 300,000 words and I really don't want anyone to lose interest but based one the comments and messages I've received, I get the sense that won't really happen so I'm exploring a sequel, which I'd love to write.

(Warning) - Cold Open.

"Fuck me...fuck me..." she whispered in between draws of breath as she wrapped her arms tighter around his neck.

"Oww," Fitz groaned as he felt her nails dig into his skin.

He stopped and pulled his cock out, flipped her on her stomach and dug into her again. Olivia reached back and felt until she grabbed into his hair, slightly arching her back to allow him to go deeper. She felt his hand on her breast and then she felt his other hand on her swollen clit. She winced slightly from pain while simultaneously moaning delightfully from pleasure. Fitz had been sucking off her clit for most of the flight, leaving it swollen and throbbing but she loved it. She could feel his sweat on her back, on her cheek as he kissed her from behind. The room had turned into a hot box, the air was hot and heavy and the aroma of sex was thick and inescapable.

"Ahhhh.. ahh...ahh..ah" she moaned into the sheets, each utterance separated by a sharp breath as her orgasm echoed through her, reaching everywhere from her swollen lips to her curled toes, it left her walls suckling onto Fitz's cock as if that was her body's way of begging him to never leave.

"Oh shit...fuck," he uttered as he felt her walls contract and expand around his girth, "fuck!" he said, giving her one final pump of his cock before he shot a load into her. He leaned over and held her and didn't move as his cum drained from his cock and even after he was sure every last drop if it was inside of her, he laid still, breathing heavily to match Olivia, trying to catch their breath but the hot air didn't help. They had turned off the air because Olivia was cold but it was so hot that there was fog on the glass. Fitz took a last deep breath and pulled out of Olivia, leaving cum dripping out of her and unto the sheets. Fitz stumbled over the thermostat and turned up the air and then walked to the bed and laid on top of Olivia, his new bride, who was still laying flat on her stomach the way he left her moments earlier. He kissed her playfully on her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her waist and nestled her.

She still had her lace garter belt around her thigh, slanted, from sliding up and down her thigh from the various positions Fitz had placed her in. Her one piece lace lingerie was on the floor, discarded like trash, so were the long, fluffy white angel wings she wore for him. They'd been flying for almost 15 hours, during that time, they made love for the first time as husband and wife, ate, napped and repeated, several times after.

Fitz brushed Olivia's hair that had been stuck to her sweaty face behind her ear and kissed her again, this time he shifted their positions so they were cuddling.

"I love you," she whispered.

Fitz popped his head up, "you're going back to sleep aren't you?"

"Yes."

"What! But I've been doing all the work."

"Yes, and you've been doing good work, my body thanks you for it but I'm pregnant and exhausted, that's going to be my excuse for everything and planning a wedding is hard, I need rest."

He smiled and rubbed his nose against hers.

"You are so spoiled."

Olivia smiled, "who's fault is that?"

"Guilty," he conceded.

She shifted and rested her head on moist chest and they both drifted to sleep moments later.

Fitz woke up to the sound of a staff member announcing they would be landing in 1 hour. He nudged Olivia, trying to wake her.

"Baby, wake up, we'll be landing soon."

She shifted slightly and popped her head up.

"Babe, what time is it?"

He reached over for his watch on the night stand and checked.

"It's 6:00."

She sat up and yawned.

"I need a shower," she said lazily.

She stood up and stretched and walked to the bathroom, Fitz joined behind her. They showered, brushed their teeth, dressed and by the time they were finish, the plane was beginning to descend.

Olivia sat on top of Fitz's desk in her white chiffon ruffled maxi dress and finished eating a bacon slider from the platter of food they'd been munching on for the duration of the flight. Fitz grabbed his watch from the nightstand, as he strapped it around his wrist he finally got a good look at their bed and chuckled.

"I feel bad for whoever has to clean this," he said in reference to the large dried white cum stains all over the grey sheets.

Olivia laughed as she bit another piece of her slider.

"Now I feel bad."

Fitz walked over to Olivia and rested a hand on her stomach and kissed her.

"I can't wait 'till he starts moving," she said with a smile.

"It's a she and I can't either."

He took one of the sliders as well and began eating. As the plane landed, Olivia took all their clothes off the floor and sheets off the bed and left them in a laundry pile by the bathroom. Within 10 minutes, they were at the plane door, waiting to exit. One of the attendants walked up and opened the door for them. Fitz was the first to step out with Olivia directly behind him. When Olivia stepped unto the platform of the stairway leading down to the ground, she took a moment to look around. All she saw was green: green trees, green bushes, it was still a little bright out, considering it was after 7pm. She looked a little further out and saw pretty turquoise blue water in the distance. Fitz led her down the steps and then helped her into the golf cart what was waiting for them.

"You built a runway on the island?" she asked. Fitz hadn't exactly been forthcoming about their travel plans and now that she was off the plane, she realized that they landed directly on the island.

"No, my grandfather did, he thought it was too inconvenient to have to go Papua and then take a seaplane here so he built a runway.

Olivia chuckled, "that's one way to fix an inconvenience, just build your own runway."

Fitz smiled.

"Where are we going now?"

"The villa."

As they drove to the villa, Olivia took the time to take in the island. It was gorgeous. From the huge palm trees to the vivid flowers and fruits trees. They drove past a golf course.

"What is a golf course doing here?"

"I like to golf, so did my granddad, he built it. The island is mostly artificial landscaping."

Fitz drove up to a scenic waterfall spraying water into a lake.

"We built the waterfall, the plants were all planted, we had the animals from the island removed because most of them were really dangerous, let's not forget were close to Australia and Indonesia, my granddad didn't want to take any chances."

"Well I'm glad."

"Except for the water animals."

He stopped the cart and helped her out then he walked her over to the lake. It had lights at the bottom that made the water glow.

"The water being sprayed from the waterfall is pulled from the ocean and there's a channel underneath the lake that allows fish and other creatures to swim under."

They stepped up to the edge of the lake and Olivia looked inside. It was like an aquarium, they were all manner of bright colored fish, jellyfish, turtles, eels, starfish, seahorse and even a small shark and a mid sized octopus. There was an artificial colorful coral reef at the bottom and most of the animals hovered in and around it.

"Wow, this is gorgeous,- I could do without the shark but it's great."

He took her back to the golf cart and they continued driving until they reached the white sandy beach front. The villa was huge, mostly made of glass and wood. There was a large infinity pool that stretched out to the edge of the beach and where the pool stopped, the ocean began. It was lined with palm trees. She could see moorings of the over the water huts that stretch far into the ocean. It looked more like a island resort than a private island for one or even ten people.

"This is great."

"Really, not too...much?"

"It's a little much, I guess if you wanted to you could use the island as a resort, it's huge, I didn't know they had islands this huge in this archipelago."

"It wasn't this big at first, like I said, most of this place is artificial, we extended the island, about half of it is man-made. It took a lot of work."

"Like the palm islands in Dubai?"

"Exactly like that, only better."

She smiled.

"Well you know the deal, you have to pick me up and carry me inside, tradition requires it. Then you have to bring me outside because right after because I want to watch the sunset."

He chuckled and swept her up, honeymoon style.

"You've got it Mrs. Grant."

He carried her to the villa as she laughed the entire way and then he let her down in the living room of the huge house. Olivia looked around, it had a classic vacation home kind of setup, not very personal but comfortable. Olivia changed into a white bikini and Fitz into swim trunks then he took her back outside. All the lamps were turned on, leaving a nice golden glow across the pool. The sun was almost completely gone from the sky, the ocean breeze was warm, it was perfect.

Fitz walked down the steps in the pool until the water was at his waist, Olivia stayed behind. When he turned around and realized she didn't seem interested in joining him he was a little confused.

"Sweetie, aren't you coming?"

"No."

She stooped down and sat on the side on the pool and folded her legs so they didn't touch the water.

"Why not, it feels great, the water's nice and cool."

"No, it's okay, I'd rather watch you swim around."

It took Fitz a moment to remember, sometimes she seemed to be doing so well, he forgot about the little things that stuck with her from her ordeal in Iran, like the fact that she didn't like swimming anymore. He walked over to her by the side of the pool and stood in between her legs and wrapped his hands around her waist.

"You know you're safe with me right?"

"I know but-"

"-Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do."

He unfolded her legs and then lifted her into the water, she didn't resist but she held on to his neck tightly. He rested her against the side of the pool and she stood, the water reached her a little higher than her navel.

"How's that?"

"Congratulations," she said with a chuckle, "you got me in here."

"Thank you, I'll take all the praise I can get."

She rested her elbows on the side of the pool and leaned back, Fitz stood directly in front of her with his arms rested on her hips and kissed her neck.

"This is nice."

"Hmm, I wonder who told you that," he teased as he kissed her gently on the lips.

"Shut up before I leave you in here by yourself."

He chuckled, "alright and I guess now's as good a time as any to tell you."

"Tell me what?"

"Mellie was at the wedding."

"She really came, I didn't expect her to, I only invited her to be a bitch- wait, how did I not see her."

"That's because the guards wouldn't let her in, she came dressed in the dress she wore at our wedding, I think she was planning on crashing it but they didn't let her in."

Olivia's mouth fell open.

"Really, she wore her wedding dress, when did this happen?"

"Like halfway through, Tom pulled me over and told me."

"Wow, that's hilarious, she's crazy, I'm convinced."

Fitz chuckled.

"Yeah I don't know what's going on with her but enough about that, I want to talk about names for our daughter, I came up with some more."

She smiled.

"Okay, let's hear them."

"Eva."

"I like that."

"Penelope, I've been thinking Caroline as well, I like Sienna."

"I love Sienna."

"Aria, Hailey, Zoe, Margot. Keep check of all of these by the way because I haven't been writing them down."

"You need to think of boys names too you know."

"Have you thought about whether or not our baby will be like you, you know, memory and everything."

"I've thought about it a lot and I honestly don't know, I think it's unlikely because it's not like my memory is hereditary, I'm hoping we'll have a normal baby."

"Are you nervous about delivery?"

"A little, oh my poor vagina, As if it doesn't have you giving it hell, now it has to push out a baby, all the pain will be worth it though, we'll have our baby all to ourselves."

"I can't wait," he said as he caressed her cheeks and kissed her.

They lounged around the pool for a few more hours, kissing, hugging, talking; and when the night was beginning to get too cool, they went to the outdoor shower to wash the chlorine off and then they went back inside the villa, dried off and changed into pajamas and went to bed shortly after from jet lag after a 20 hour flight.

The next morning, when Olivia woke up, Fitz was already up and talking on the phone. Breakfast was on a tray on the night table in the room. When Fitz heard her wake up, he walked over and kissed her.

"Morning," he said with the phone still by his ear.

Olivia grabbed the phone and put it by her ear, "Cyrus he's my husband not yours, leave him alone so he can enjoy his honeymoon."

"Madame first lady, this is J. I. Gregor, the national security advisor ma'am."

Olivia's mouth fell open in embarrassment as she handed the phone back to Fitz who seemed to be dying of laughter, he was struggling to catch his breath.

"We'll finish our conversation later on Jim."

Fitz hung up and turned to Olivia.

"That's not funny, you should have told me."

He climbed on top of her and kissed her again.

"I could have but admit it, this was funnier."

She grabbed his ass and pushed him in between her legs and then shimmied his pajama pant down.

"It was," she whispered as she kissed him.

Fitz pulled off her silk shorts and then her underwear and top, the smirk on his face told her exactly what he was thinking and seconds later, his face was in between her legs and his tongue was dancing on her clit. It was scrumptious, she grabbed onto his hair as she relished her time on the honeymoon she'd always dreamed off. As he licked back and forth over her pearl she felt a gush of water squirt from her walls.

"Woo," she said slightly surprised.

He was holding her legs apart so firmly she couldn't close them, or move or squirm away from him.

"Fu….ck...baby…" She moaned softly.

He leaned up and laid his body on top hers. His lips were just a touch away from hers. She reached down and stroked his erect penis up and down and rubbed his tip against her hot, wet folds.

"Do you feel that baby, how wet she is, she's begging for you," she said as she continued to teased herself with his tip. He smiled and leaned up then spread her legs apart. He teased the lips of her vagina with his fingers, playing around with the juices that flowed.

"She's definitely begging for it alright," he teased playfully.

"Yes, give me more," she returned playfully.

He licked between her legs again and then he replaced his tongue with his cock, wet from her juices, thick and engorged inside her. He had flipped her on all fours, with both hands grabbing her ass possessively, the way she liked it. He thrust slowly with one hand pressed into her back to steady her and the other hand slapping her ass. It was amazing but she wanted to reciprocate so she stopped him and pushed him flat on the bed then got on top of him and slid down easily on his cock and grinded her hips slowly on him.

"Ride it nice and slow baby," he groaned with his head tipped back and his eyes closed.

Olivia lifted his hands and brought them to her breast then she held them there.

"Mm...like this," she moaned as she rolled her hips against him.

"-Just like that."

She leaned back and used her arms to prop her body up, she opened her legs wide and bounced her hips up and down on him. Fitz grabbed onto her hips with one hand and pressed his thumb against her clit with the other.

"Fuck," Olivia gasped as she lost balance and fell back on the bed.

Her legs were still wide open as Fitz grabbed her ankles and pulled her across the bed to him. He sat up and pulled her on top of him so she was straddling him.

"You did that on purpose," she said with a smile as she squeezed his cheeks and pressed her forehead against his.

He kissed her lips and then trailed kisses down her neck, letting his tongue linger against her skin with every kiss. He eased her down on him as he continued kissing her and then laid her on the bed. He knelt between her legs as he thrusted into her slowly with her legs spread apart and thrown over his shoulder.

"Fitz baby, I'm cumming," she uttered breathlessly.

She grabbed onto his ass tightly as she came in rapture, Fitz came almost simultaneously.

He gave himself a moment to catch his breath and then he picked her up by the waist and rested her on his lap so she was straddling him. He wrapped his hands tightly and possessively around her waist as he kissed her glowing face.

"Oh my god, that was amazing," she said smile.

Fitz chuckled.

"Wanna grab a shower?"

"Yes please."

He stood up and then picked her up and threw her over his shoulder and walked to the bathroom.

Round two in the shower was just as delightful as round one in the bedroom and an hour later they were out of the bathroom. They got dressed and prepared to eat breakfast together.

"My prenatals-"

"-Don't worry," Fitz said, cutting her off, "I'll get 'em."

He walked over to her toiletry bag across the room and grabbed her pills then handed them to her. She took the pills with some water and then they sat at the table for breakfast.

"So, what are we doing today?" she asked as she ate some eggs.

"I wanted to go surfing."

"Um not you're not, were in pacific ocean, there are sharks and jellyfish and all sorts of other things that could attack you, you're gonna have to take a hard pass on that one. You did not come here to be some random shark's lunch."

He chuckled, "it was worth a shot."

"Okay we can do something, there's a lot to do here or we can do nothing."

"I just want to lay out in the shade, how does that sound?"

"It sounds good, god knows we'll need the rest for when he get back to D.C., it'll be crazy."

"Don't remind me," she said with a smile.

They sat eating for a little while longer and then they went out to the shore and laid on the sunbed under one of the palm trees.

They spent most of the day sprawled out on the bed, in the afternoon the attendants brought them lunch and after they ate Olivia got lethargic and fell asleep beside him on the bed. Fitz used that time to do some work and make a few calls, by the time Olivia woke up, it was evening.

She stretched and curled her toes and then sat up. She noticed Fitz reading folders; going over charts and data.

"Good evening," he said with a smile.

"What are you doing?"

"I was just reviewing some stuff but since your up, I'm done."

He closed the folders and rested them on the ground.

"I had the best dream."

"About what?"

"This morning, it was amazing."

He chuckled, "so I take it married life is treating you good?"

"The best."

She leaned on top of him and kissed him and then laid her head against his chest.

"I love you," she whispered,

"I love you too-ooouch, fuck, fuck, fuck!"

Fitz jumped up and so did Olivia.

"What happened?" She screamed. From the corner of her eye she saw the agents running toward them after hearing Fitz scream.

Fitz pulled down his pants frantically and searched for something in his pants.

"What's going on Fitz, you're scaring me."

"My balls Olivia, my fucking balls, Jesus Christ."

"What?"

"Mr president are you okay."

"Stay back!" Fitz yelled as he kicked off his pants.

The agents did as he ordered.

Olivia took the towel from the sunbed and wrapped it around his waist to hide his nakedness and then helped him to sit on the bed.

"What happened?"

"Jesus Christ, something bit me. Oh baby it hurts- owwwwwwww!"

He opened his legs. He was frantic and breathing deeply to try to calm down.

"Okay babe, just breathe, I'm going to take a look at it."

He nodded.

Olivia opened the towel and inspected him. She immediately could tell where he was bitten, it was extremely swollen and red and getting more swollen by the minute.

"Can you get me an ice pack, please, quickly," she asked the guards.

One attendant who had been standing around hurried off to get it before any guards could.

"Pain from 1 to 10?" She asked.

"100," he said breathlessly.

She looked over to his pant and saw a lone ant crawling away and picked it up.

"Solenopsis," she said to herself as she inspected the ant. She was glad it wasn't anything that was extremely venomous, now she knew that he wasn't overreacting about the pain he was feeling, a fire ant's sting was very painful.

"What?"

"It's a fire ant, I know it's painful, really painful but it'll return to normal, it could be a day or a few days. Well just ice it on and off for a few hours and I'll try to see to see if I can't find some antihistamines to help with itching, because it will itch."

"Dr. Pope, is everything okay?" Tom asked, "should I call the president's medical team for back up."

"No, everything is fine can you just help me to take him inside."

Fitz sat up, "it's okay I can walk."

"Yes but let them help you."

The attendant came back with ice and gave it to Olivia. After the guards helped Fitz inside and rested him on the couch, Olivia sat beside him and rested the ice pack in his swollen area.

He breathed relief and relaxed a little.

"My poor husband," she said as she caressed his cheek. She smiled at the words because they felt good to say.

"My poor balls," Fitz quipped.

She chuckled, "I know, it's huge, you should see it, it's like a blowfish."

He chuckled though all he could feel was pain.

"Can I get you anything?"

"No, I just want you to lay here with me, maybe we can watch a movie?"

"That sounds perfect," she said as she grabbed the remote and laid next to him comfortably.

They spent the rest of the night on the couch, watching tv, eating, talking until they fell asleep.

The next morning, Olivia woke up while Fitz was still asleep and showered, brushed her teeth, took her vitamins and then went to the kitchen make Fitz her special bacon avocado sandwich that he loved. He sat beside him on the couch and nudged him until he woke up.

"Morning," he said with a smile.

"I made you an avocado sandwich."

He sat up and smiled.

"You did!"

She leaned him and kissed him.

"How are your silver bullets doing?"

"Better."

He took a bite of his sandwich.

"So good," he said with a full mouth.

Olivia sat back against the couch and turned on the tv.

"So what time are leaving?"

"In the evening, before it gets dark, we'll get back to D.C. by Monday evening, then it's super Tuesday."

"It's so exciting to see you campaigning, not so much fun hearing all the shit Reston and his people say about you."

"Yeah but it's politics, I'm used to it, I don't take it personally."

He took another bite of the sandwich, "sweet jesus what do you put in this?"

Olivia laughed, "I put my foot in it."

He smiled.

"So there was the is cartoon called 'the proud family' and they had a grandma, her name was sugar mama, she made these little lemon cakes and they were really good, so everyone kept asking her what she put in it and she would always say 'I put my foot in it', so cartoon oprah ended up hearing about the cakes and invited her to the show to bake them live on tv, and she got all the ingredients together and she got a bowl and took her shoes off and started to dust her feet with the flour and then she used her foot to mix the ingredient and everyone started to throw up, so when she said 'I put my foot it in' she actually meant, she put her feet in it."

Fitz laughed.

"Disgusting but hilarious. Did you take your vitamins?"

"Yeah, first thing this morning."

"Come, let me give baby a kiss."

She smiled and stood over him and lifted her dress so he could kiss her stomach. Fitz held her hips and kissed her stomach then she took her seat beside him and threw her legs over his.

"So what should we do today?" the asked.

"I was thinking, we could take a boat out to sea."

"Really," he asked a little surprised, "I think that's great."

"You do?"

"Yeah."

"Perfect," she said with a smile, "it's already almost noon, we should start getting ready, we don't have a lot of time."

"Okay."

Fitz ate the last piece of his sandwich and stood up he limped slightly as the headed to the bathroom.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Olivia asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

She stood with him in the bathroom as the brushed his teeth and freshened up and then they went to change into something appropriate for a boat ride and took turns rubbing sunscreen all over each other. Olivia packed some of the food that the chef had prepared for them and left in the kitchen and then they went out to the boat dock that a little ways west of where the were on the island. The yacht on the island wasn't a big as the one the took her on when they went on their first date but it was still large for a secondary yacht.

It took a little while for the coast guards and agents to scramble together to escort them out to sea but within half an hour, they were on their way out, driving past the coral reef. Olivia looked over to Fitz who was spread out comfortably in the sun on the deck with his sunglasses on. The looked so carefree it was almost as if the didn't have the weight of the entire world on his shoulders. As she watched him she remembered her time in Bali, where she was laid out carefree on the beach and she called him and told him how much she wished the was there laid out beside her, though they were in Bali and they'd left the beach long ago, but she still loved seeing him like that. She scooted closer to him and pulled his arm around her shoulder and rested her head on his chest.

They laid together in silence for most of the boat ride and once they reached far enough after almost and hour of sailing the captain anchored the boat.

Olivia took out her snacks and started munching on little muffins and pastries, she took her time feeding Fitz as she ate.

"So, when are you going to tell your friends about the little bun?" he asked, they were alone on the deck of the boat so he felt it was secure enough to talk about it.

"I want to wait till I'm out of my first trimester, I'm about to be 8 weeks so I think in a month or so."

"Okay, what about Gerry, do you want to tell him now or do you want to wait?"

"Whatever you decide, do you think he'll be excited?"

"Yes, I think he'll be excited, there's always complained about being the only child so now he'll have a little brother or sister."

"I hope he will be, I'm so excited I can barely contain myself and it's been almost three weeks since I found out."

He leaned in and kissed her.

"Me too, it's going to be a long seven months."

"Tell me about it," she said with a smile, "I'm slightly nervous because I'm so excited and I know it's still early and anything can happen-"

"Nothing will happen, don't think like that."

"I know, I'm sorry but I'm going to be a mom now, I have to worry," she said with a smile, "but you're right nothing will happen."

He shifted his body and laid his head in her lap.

"One more time."

"Nothing will happen," she said laughing.

They stayed out at sea for another hour and then they made their way back to the island. By the time they were back in the villa all they had left to do was to shower, get their things together and then embark on AF1 to head back to Washington.


	68. Chapter 68

One month later.

Olivia and Fitz sat in her private gynecologist office waiting for the doctor to come out. She was 12 weeks and she was nervous because it was a small possibility that the doctor would be able to tell the sex of the baby. They had been debating whether or not they wanted to know the sex of the baby during pregnancy or be surprised at the birth but it was hard for her to be surprised because one look at the ultrasound and she would be able to tell for herself.

"Olivia, Mr. President, I'm ready for you," said Dr. Connor.

It was almost 9pm, they waited until after the office closed because they didn't want to run the risk of the press finding out. This was Fitz's first time visiting the doctor with her and it was her first time visiting the doctor since the initial appointment when she found out she was pregnant. They stood up and followed the doctor to the examination room. Once they entered, Fitz helped her to sit on the doctor's table and then he stood directly beside her.

Dr. Connor took a seat on her stool and began jotting down notes on her pad.

"Wait Olivia, can I have you stand on the scale to weigh you please."

"Sure," Olivia said.

Fitz helped her off the chair again (not that she needed help she was only three months pregnant and she wasn't showing). The doctor balanced the scale and jotted down her weight on the notepad.

"You gained three pounds since I last saw you."

Olivia smiled.

"That's good."

"Yes but you are technically underweight- eh, I wouldn't say underweight, yes technically you are underweight, your bmi is on the low side."

"I've always had a low to moderate bmi, considering how much I've been throwing up I think it's not too bad."

"Has the morning sickness been bad?" the doctor asked.

"It's not necessarily morning sickness it's just that for the past three weeks almost everything I smell makes me want to vomit, and then sometimes even just remembering how bad something smells turns me off from eating. I know food aversions are common but it's this is really bad."

Dr. Connor chuckled.

"I know, the upside is the cravings."

"Yeah, all I been able to eat for the past three weeks is popcorn, goat cheese, vegetable tempura and chicken wings"

Fitz chuckled.

"And chocolate," Fitz added.

"Guilty," Olivia said with a smile.

"But other than that no major issues?" Dr. Connor asked with a smile.

"No, other than that it's been good, nothing to complain about, no spotting or pains or anything, I've been looking for all the signs to worry and so far nothing."

"Perfect, why don't you get up on the table and lift your shirt so we can go ahead and perform the ultrasound."

"Okay."

"Any questions, Mr. President?"

"No, the good thing about having a wife thats a doctor is that she can answer all my dumb questions and spare you from having to do it," he said with a smile.

Both Olivia and the doctor laughed. Fitz helped her to sit on the table and the doctor got the transducer probe ready.

"Should we ask her to check today or do you want to wait?" Olivia asked.

"I don't know, do you want to wait, we should wait, until it's like 6 months."

"You think?" Olivia asked.

"I don't know, maybe, it would be fun to have gender reveal party-"

"Oh my god that's a great idea," she mused.

"You wanna do that?" he asked.

"Yeah, we should to that."

"So, you don't want to know the sex of the baby, it's a little early but I can try?" the doctor asked.

"No," they said in unison, "can you keep the probe away from the private, I don't want to accidentally find out," Olivia added.

"You've got it," the doctor said with a smile.

The doctor spread gel over her stomach and then swiped the probe across her stomach and the image flashed on the screen. Fitz had his fingers intertwined with Olivia's as the visual of the tiny, barely visible body emerged on the screen.

"Wow, look at our little champ," Fitz said happily as he kissed her cheek.

"I know our little boy," Olivia mused.

"It's going to be a girl."

The doctor chuckled at their bickering.

"I'm sorry, now you see why we don't want to know the sex yet, we have way too much at stake," Fitz joked.

Olivia smiled, "I honestly will be ecstatic with either."

"Me too,"

"Well, he or she looks very to be in very good shape."

"Thank you," Olivia responded.

The doctor packed up the probe and Fitz wiped the gel from Olivia stomach, they talked a little while longer with the doctor and confirmed their next appointment and then they headed back to the whitehouse.

Once the drive back in a motorcade of three unmarked black sedans, they decided it was time to share the news, she was just a week away from being in her second trimester and she no longer worried about a possible miscarriage since she had passed that stage. When they got to the residence, they immediately headed to Gerry's room. Fitz stood at the door and knocked a couple times before Gerry yelled that it was open. When they walked in Gerry was laying across his bed watching tv.

"We need to talk to you Ger, it's important," Fitz began.

"It's not bad is it?" Gerry asked skeptically.

"No, it's actually really good news," Fitz turned to Olivia, "do you want to tell him?"

"No, you tell him."

"Are you pregnant?" Gerry asked,

"Yes."

Gerry sat up and smiled.

"Wow that's great, I'm finally going to get my little sister."

Olivia smiled,"you want it to be a girl too?"

"Yes! And wow dad, you finally decide to do this when I leave for college next year, what's wrong with you."

Fitz chuckled.

"You can come visit her and call her everyday, we'll figure something out."

"Well congratulations to all of us. I get a baby sister, you two get a daughter. Dad, I'm already waiting for the day when someone tries to mess with my babysister, it will be armageddon."

Olivia laughed, "now if it turns out to be a boy, I'll feel bad."

"I'll be excited for a baby brother too, but I'll also want a baby sister after that, no pressure though, take your time."

Both Fitz and Olivia laughed.

"Night Gerry, by the way, we aren't telling anyone yet but we'll let you know when we are," Fitz said.

"You got it, night dad, night Olivia."

"Goodnight Gerry, night Max" Olivia replied.

Max was laying lazily on the floor, he mostly slept in Gerry's room.

Once they were out of the room Olivia sighed relief, "that went well, no we just have to tell Abby, she will not be happy I waited this long."

"I know," Fitz said with a chuckle.

They walked into their bedroom and headed straight for the bathroom to begin undressing for their shower. While Olivia was getting undressed, Fitz called down to the kitchen for the staff to bring her up some food since they didn't get a chance to have dinner. After he ordered the food, he went into the bathroom to join Olivia, he was surprised when he found her sitting bath filled with water.

"We're taking a bath tonight?"

"Yep, get in," she said with a smile.

He stripped and stepped in the tub behind her and sat. she eased herself up and sat on his lap and leaned back against his chest.

"I'm horny, what are you going to do about that?" she teased lightly.

"I have a few little tricks up my sleeve," he replied as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her.

"Like?"

He chuckled.

"A nice game of how many strokes does it take my wife to orgasm."

"Let's play."

"Okay but there are rules."

"What are the rules? She asked.

"You have to count, out loud, you can't skip a number, you can't pause and you most importantly, you can't moan."

"What kind of game is that? What am I supposed to do bite my lips and be quiet?"

"Yep and we'll see how long you can hold out, it's a test, of sorts."

"I'm not happy about your rules but you've peaked my interest so I'll play, just make sure I orgasm okay."

"If you follow the rules, you will," he responded with a smirk.

He switched positions with her so he was kneeling behind her and he braced her against the side of the tub, she was on her knees. Fitz reached over and grabbed the bottle of shower oil and spread it all over her ass.

"Are you ready," he asked.

"I think so," she said with smile.

He rubbed his tip up and down the length of her opening before he slid it in slowly, until he couldn't go further.

"Mmmm," she moaned as she closed her eyes.

"No-no-no, no moaning, no groaning, no cursing, just count."

"No, it's not fair, I don't like this game, you always do this, I'm in my stage of my pregnancy where my libido is going to be very high, I don't want games, I just want sex."

"Too late, you already agreed."

He gave her another deep stroke.

"Two," she said breathlessly.

He stroked her again.

"Ahhh," she moaned.

He stopped and pulled out then he stepped out of the shower.

"You're disqualified."

"Stop it Fitz, it's not funny," she whined.

He stroked himself as she watched.

"If you want it, come and get it," he teased as he walked out of the bathroom.

She climbed out and dried her feet off on the mat and followed him.

"I'm not joking, this isn't funny, I'm pregnant, I'm horny, I'm hungry and now I'm angry."

Fitz chuckled and turned around.

"You're so dramatic, get on the bed, I'll give you what you want."

She ran to the bed.

"I thought you were angry."

"Yes, I was but I'm not anymore."

He chuckled, "so fickle."

They were still wet from the shower when Fitz jumped on the bed and joined her. Olivia pulled his face down and started kissing him immediately, before he even fully positioned himself over her. Sensing her urgency, he entered her immediately.

"Finally," she moaned.

Fitz smiled and kissed her, "that's what you like huh?"

"I love it," she moaned as she grabbed his ass as shoved him deeper.

They went on for some time until there was a knock on the door.

"Shit," Fitz said as he remembered the food that he ordered.

He attempted to get up but Olivia grabbed onto his waist.

"No, don't answer, they'll leave."

He smiled and leaned down and began thrusting again.

"Mmm…"

The was another knock.

"Mr. President, we have the food delivery you requested."

Fitz broke the kiss with Olivia.

"Leave it by the door!" he yelled.

"I'm cuming baby," Olivia whisepred in his ear.

"Okay sir, It's right by your door."

He angled her hips up towards him and thrusted harder.

Olivia kept her hand tight around his waist to steady herself and then as her orgasm took her, Fitz's did as well.

He collapsed on top of her, still kissing her but after a long day, they were both exhausted.

"Fitz… the food," Olivia reminded him.

He chuckled and shook his head and kissed her again.

"I'll grab it."

He stood up and grabbed his robe from the bathroom then he went into the hallway to get the food and brought it over to her by the bed.

He pulled the dome off the tray, revealing the food to Olivia.

"Let's do this carefully, you barely made it to the bathroom last time."

"I know," she said with a smile, "these look good though."

He held up the plate of grilled chicken tenders in front of her. Olivia sniffed it and gave him a thumbs up. He nodded and then placed it back on the plate and held up the plate with the vegetable tempura and she sniffed it then gave him the thumbs up. He put it back on the tray and then held up the plate with the sauce and had her sniff it, Olivia gagged at the smell.

Fitz moved it away quickly.

"So that's a no for the sauce," he said with a chuckle.

"Yes, no for the sauce, everything else is good."

He brought the sauce to the coffee table in front of the sofa and then joined her on the bed as they ate.

"So, are you excited for the interview tomorrow?" he asked.

"Yes, my first press day as first lady, I'm really excited," she said as she ate her broccoli.

"Are you nervous about the radio show? I don't really like the idea of people calling in, you know crazy people might call in and try to say something crazy to you."

"That's actually exciting and don't they screen the calls before they allow them through."

"Yeah that's true and you can always change your mind and you should also let me know if you change your mind about the g20, I know how busy you are and you'll have to take almost a week off to fly with me to Germany."

"I'm not going to change me mind, I want to, I 'll probably be showing by then so we'll have to figure that part out."

"You shouldn't be worried about telling the world, you need to be worried about telling Abby."

Olivia chuckled.

"I'm going to call her tomorrow before I leave for New York and she'll give me a hard time but that's really all she can do."

"Okay well call me and tell me know her reaction."

"I will."

She was beginning to get a little chilly so she pull on the covers. Fitz noticed and got beside her under the cover.

"So, I kind of have good news but you have to come by the lab to see it."

"What is it?"

"No, I'm not telling you, you have to come by the lab for me to show you."

"I'll just ask Gerry, I'm sure he'll tell me."

"NO, Gerry doesn't know," she said with a mischievous smile.

"Okay, I can't come tomorrow but I can make it there the day after, how does that sound?"

"No, I changed my mind, forget I said anything, it's too soon to show you."

"No, come on."

"I'll just show you when I'm done."

Fitz sighed.

"Okay fine. I can't believe you got my hopes up like that."

"Such is my power," she said with a smile.

After they finished eating, Fitz took the tray and placed in on the floor and then snuggled close to her and they went to bed a little while later.

In the morning, Fitz got up and got ready. He had an earlier day than Olivia, who would be doing press for most of the afternoon and then they would meet later in the evening for a joint tv appearance.

After he was dressed, he walked over to the bed and sat beside her.

"Liv, I'm heading out now sweetie."

He leaned down and kissed her lips.

"Bye."

"Oo Liv, your breath," he teased as he stood up.

"Shut up," she said as she laughed and covered her head with the pillow.

She got up about an hour after Fitz left, to bathe and brush her teeth then met with her hair and makeup team and personal shopper for breakfast. After breakfast, they all went to the closet to help her dress and start her hair and makeup.

She wore a Armani white skinny ankle pants and a cream Gucci pussy tie silk blouse underneath with a structured white Balmain blazer and nude Christian Louboutin pumps. The only jewelry she was her diamond knobs and her wedding ring.

She would be flying to New York in the afternoon to meet Fitz for their tv appearance and she figured she'd invite Abby to lunch and then she could tell her the news. As she waited for her detail to bring the car around, she pulled out her cell and dialed Abby, who picked up on the second ring.

"Liv, what's up?"

"Nothing, I'm going to be in town today and thought maybe we could grab some lunch together, I kinda need to talk."

"What time, my shift ends at three."

"Three is fine, I'll make reservations at Serafina's."

"Perfect, I haven't had Serafina's in a while so good, that works for me."

"Okay perfect, I'll make the reservation for 3:30 becuase I have to meet Fitz by 4:30, just a quick lunch and then I have to run."

"Make the reservation for three and I'll see if I can maybe get off my shift 20 minutes earlier."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, it's fine, I'm usually just filling out paperwork the last hour of my shift anyways so it's cool."

"Okay perfect. I'll see you later."

Olivia hung up and then headed to the car that was waiting for her.

"Hey Josh, I wanted to have some lunch with a friend at Serafina's around 3 today."

"No problem, we'll make the arrangements."

"Thanks," she said as she took her seat in the back of the suv with her new chief of staff and two of her aides.

Their first venue was a national radio program in Virginia, she would be doing a brief interview and speaking to callers. It was Cyrus' idea for her to take a few days doing press as the new first lady for the campaign.

It was just over an hour drive when they arrived and headed straight to the green room to wait for the start of the interview. They specifically choose the radio station because a lot of small towners listened to it and Cyrus thought it was a great way to get people like them familiar with her since they would soon be kicking into the thick of the campaign during the summer.

She waited for about 15 minutes before the station crew escorted her to the studio for the interview. When she walked into the room, she smiled and greeted the host.

"Hi, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Hey, we're so excited to have you here, we'll be going back on air in about 1 minutes so we're gonna get the headset on you now okay," said one host.

She nodded and then one of the crew members helped her to put the headset on.

The other host stood and shook her hand warmly, "hello, we're so excited to have you."

"I'm excited to be here,' they all got seated and waited to go back on air.

"3-2-1, we're back and we're so excited to have with us our brand new first lady Olivia Grant. She was nice enough to stop by to chat with us for a little while and then afterwards she'd like to chat with you so we'll open up the phone lines now and you can call in but first let's chat, how does it feel to be the new first lady?"

Olivia smiled.

"You make it seem like I won a pageant, 'how does it feel to be the new miss USA," she said with a chuckle.

The hosts laughed.

"Yeah that was weird, wasn't it, okay so let me ask you this, a lot of people take issue with you not being a typical first lady, since the wedding you haven't really attended many events with the president that a usual first lady does, we had a few: the veterans event, the president of Australia visited and you were absent at the bilateral and a few others, what do you have to say to those critics?"

Olivia could see her chief of staff get queasy at the question but she had no issue with it.

"I would just say that I'm a working woman, I have a career that I love and I have serious work that I do and while I'd love to be present for a lot of these events, most times, I'm unable to. Most women work and so do I and I don't think there's anything wrong with that."

"Does the president ask you to be present at these events?"

"No, for the most part he lets me know his schedule it's up to me whether or not I can make it."

"So what about the g20 coming up, will you be attending, historically all the president's spouse's attend?"

"I will be attending and I'm really excited."

"Do you think it will be fun."

"I know that Fitz usually enjoys his time there and by that standard, yes, I think it will be fun."

"Most first ladies have one issue that they commit to, do you have one issue that you want to put on a national platform and make it 'your thing' so to speak?"

"My thing is being a doctor, I hope to encourage other little boys and girls to be doctors."

"Well said Mrs. Grant and now we'll take our first caller, we have Jessica calling from Maryland, hello Jessica."

"Hi, I just wanted to call to I'm actually studying to be a doctor and so I'm glad we have a first lady that's a doctor as well."

"Thank you Jessica, congrats on your hard work so far, what field do you plan on entering."

"Pediatrics."

"My best friend is a pediatrician and she loves so it, she gets to work with so many adorable little kids."

"I know, I love kids and I'm really excited, I start my residency soon."

"I'm happy for you, congratulations again and keep up the hard work."

"Thanks."

They had a few very polite calls and then Jeff called.

"Next caller, Jeff from New Jersey."

"Hello," the man said.

"Hi Jeff, you're on air, what's up?" Olivia said.

"I just wanted to say that I'm angry Sally Langston dropped out, she would've been a good conservative christian president unlike president Grant."

"You think so Jeff, I happen to disagree," Olivia replied.

"Yes, she was actually gonna do stuff, president Grant is an abortionist, leftist, hippy and he's not a Christian. He's ruining our country, he's a liar and a complete incompetent a-hole. Grantcare doesn't work-"

Olivia smiled, she could see the host about to cut him off but she stopped them.

"Oh Jeff, we've been so polite to you. Why do you wanna be like that when we're being friendly," Olivia said.

"Grantcare doesn't work. He's not a Christian. He's making big bucks from special interests groups, he's un American."

"Jeff I wonder why you called with such hostility, bashing someone who's never bothered you. If you're going to call and attack my husband, you need to call with facts, if you have valid claims and criticisms, I'm polite enough to hear them out but if not then I'm going to hang up."

"He's killing babies."

"He's not killing any babies Jeff, you're making claims you can't back up, you don't know the legislation your wasting my time talking about and your accusing the president of murder without any proof, so I have a little bit of advice for you Jeff, hate makes you stupid, so try hating a little bit less and reading a little bit more, I say that with love."

The host starting laughing as they ended the call.

"He told us he wanted to congratulate you on the wedding," the host said.

"I think Jeff's just misunderstood," Olivia replied.

The chatted on air for a while longer and Olivia took a few more calls that were polite and then they ended the broadcast and headed back to the green room.

"I can't believe that just happened," her chief of staff Pamela said.

Olivia laughed.

"Really, I thought that was funny."

Pamela's phone rang and she answered and then handed it to Olivia.

"It's vice- president Beene for you."

Olivia took the phone.

"Hello Cy."

"Olivia that was amazing."

"Cyrus aren't you suppose to be somewhere being vice-president."

"I had to stop to listen to the interview, but I love it, we can brand you as the down to earth, real, woman who-"

"Cy, is Fitz beside you?"

"No, why?"

"Nothing, I actually have to go."

She hung up and then handed the phone back to Pamela.

"What did he say?" Pamela asked.

"Oh, nothing," she said nonchalantly.

They left the broadcast studio and headed to the joint base andrew. Since Olivia was now first lady she flew in a 747 boeing government issued jet. She took a few journalist along for the ride and gave a few interviews during the flight. She landed at Laguardia airport just after two pm and then headed straight to Serafina's to meet Abby.

She was a little late, arriving just after 3pm but it was perfect because Abby had taken her seat moments before she arrived.

When Abby saw Olivia walking back to the secluded booth she stood up and waited to greet her. Once Olivia stepped up, she hugged her briefly and then sat down.

"Hey, I've missed you, you little hooker," Abby said as sat back on her chair.

"I missed you too," Olivia replied.

Olivia could see all the eyes peeking back at their booth, surprised to see her at the restaurant.

A waitress walked over immediately to take their order.

"Hi, I'm Olivia, I'll be your server today."

"I'm also Olivia," Olivia said with a smile.

"I know," the girl said giddily.

"Can I get you both some water or any drinks until you're ready to order?"

"I'll have some white wine," Abby said.

"I'll have water and can I just have berry tart and vanilla ice cream."

Abby looked at her sideways, wondering why she would order such a funny thing.

"I guess, I'll just have the feta pizza."

"Okay, thanks you, I'll be back as soon as possible."

The waitress left quickly.

"A berry tart for lunch?" Abby asked.

"Yes, that what I need to talk to you about."

"What?"

"Okay, I'm pregnant," Olivia whispered.

"WHAT!" Abby screamed.

"Shh,"

"Oh my god, when did this happen?"

"Abby inside voice please and it happened in February."

"What, so wait- that means you're like three months, why didn't you tell me?"

"I just wanted to keep it between me and Fitz until I got out of my first trimester."

"I'm your best friend, I know everything about you, I can't believe you waited three months."

"Are you gonna give me shit about it?"

"Yes!" Abby said with a chuckle.

Olivia was glad she kept her reaction measured, Abby had a knack for overreacting.

"Fitz told me to call and tell him your reaction, he was sure you'd go crazy."

"Are you showing yet, I didn't notice when you walked in."

"No, I wish, my stomach is a little pudgy but it just looks like I've had something to eat."

"You're tiny so you'll probably have a small stomach all the way through or maybe you'll have a huge beach ball belly - no but wait, I'm the godmother right?"

"I guess so."

"What do you mean you guess so."

"Yes Abby, of course you are," she said with a smile.

"Hey, did you tell someone that 'hate makes them stupid', it's trending on twitter."

Olivia chuckled.

"Don't ask, I was at a radio show this morning and some idiot called."

They spent about an hour having lunch and then Olivia had to leave to meet Fitz by the Chase Brinkley show for their first interview together.

When she arrived, Fitz was already back stage in the dressing room. She walked in she found him sitting on the sofa, reading through some papers.

"Hey guys can we have a second," Olivia said as she walked in.

Fitz looked up and smiled when he heard her voice.

She waited until everyone left and then she walked over and sat in his lap and kissed him.

"You told that guy that hate makes him stupid?" he said with a chuckle.

"Yes, he was saying rude things about you, momma bear doesn't play."

"Cyrus loves it, now that I think about it that might have been why he set the whole thing up, everyone's talking about it."

Olivia chuckled.

"Well, in other news, I finally told Abby."

"And what did she say?"

"She reacted slightly dramatically and then she pulled back, she took it really well."

"I love how even though you aren't married to Abby we still have to worry about her reaction to the news of our child."

She chuckled.

"Family is crazy sometimes, what can I say," she said as she kissed him again and stood up.

"When do we go on?"

"30 minutes or so, you look great by the way."

"Thanks."

"Don't the heels hurt your feet?"

"I take them off all the times, Pamela has a pair of flip flops for me in her purse."

Olivia opened the door and allowed everyone back in so the hair and makeup could give her a touch up before they were called to the stage.

Chase, the tv host came to say hi before he went on moments later for his monologue. Fitz and Olivia waited backstage and after the first commercial break Chase called them on.

"Everyone please welcome, President Grant and First lady Dr. Olivia Pope-Grant."

The crowd cheered as they walked on the stage, holding hands. They sat on the couch, Olivia was closer to the host than Fitz was.

"Well, firstly, I'd like to say thank you so much for coming on the show, it only took you four years to fulfil the promise you made to come here but for a president I'd say that not too bad."

The crowd laughed.

"First Lady dr. Olivia-"

"Please, just Olivia."

"Okay Olivia, I have to play a recording from earlier, apparently it's gone viral, but for good reason, so let's all take a listen and then we'll talk about it."

They played the audio in it's entirety and the crowd laughed and cheered.

"So, what happened there? What was that guy's problem?"

"I have no idea, it was pretty funny though."

"Mr. president, what did you think when you heard it?"

"I thought it was hilarious."

"I love how you said 'with love' at the end, nice touch."

"Thank you," Olivia stood up and bowed and the crowd cheered.

The host threw basic questions back and forth between them for a while, mostly about the presidency and campaign until he started asking about them as a couple.

"So can you tell us one thing about Olivia that's funny," he asked Fitz.

Fitz took a moment to think.

"Well, she denies that she does this but she's so beautiful that she's not used to being told no, just tell her no, just say the word no and see the look that come ones her face and then have the cameras zoom in."

"That's not true," Olivia protested.

The cameras zoomed in on her face.

The host turned to her.

"Whatever you're thinking about having you can't have it, no!"

Olivia's eyes opened wide, big, brown and doe, it wasn't on purpose, she didn't even know she did that until Fitz mentioned it a few times.

She could see the video of her face and covered her face, "zoom out."

The crowd started laughing and she did too. Fitz wrapped his arm around her, hugged her and kissed her.

"See, Chase."

"That was hilarious," the host replied.

"Tell us one thing we don't know about the president."

Olivia smiled mischievously.

"Once, when he was in college, he had a dog that-"

Fitz covered her mouth quickly.

"No-no-no," Fitz said laughing.

"No, I wanna hear this," the host said eagerly.

Fitz moved his hand from her mouth, Olivia had been laughing uncontrollably.

"I think I'm gonna hang it over his head a little longer."

"Aw man," Chase said.

They could see the producers cueing for a commercial break.

"Thank you, Mr. President and Olivia, we'll be right back after the break where we have the president and first lady read mean thing people say about them online."

They moved Olivia and Fitz to stools on the other side of the stage during the commercial break while the producers gathered the cards for them to read from. After a short two minute commercial break, they were back.

The producer signalled Fitz to read first.

"This one is from Greg in Iowa, 'I don't understand how Olivia Pope can be so skinny when she has a whole kitchen of people in the white house to cook for her. #anorexic."

Olivia covered her mouth and laughed and began reading her card.

"It's funny because I eat so much," she cleared her throat, "President Grant reminds me of a dumb, over hyped jock in high school who makes everyone do his work for him. #votereston."

Fitz laughed and picked up another card, "I think Olivia Pope is a fake doctor."

"I wonder what shoe polish president Grant uses to gel his hair?"

Olivia burst out laughing before she could finish the reading the card, Fitz laughed and began reading his card.

"I wonder if we could strap President Grant to a jet and just ship him somewhere and never take him back."

Olivia laughed and read, "since taking the office President Grant has gotten grayer and grayer, not so much fun being president huh?"

Fitz laughed.

"Alright, thank you President Grant and Dr. Olivia Pope for stopping by today, we'll take a break and be right back."

Once they got to break, the crew escorted them backstage to the green room.

"Shoe polish for your hair, that's so funny," Olivia said laughing.

"Yeah, whatever, fake doctor."

He said as he chuckled and kissed her.

"Sir, whenever you're ready," Tom said as he walked into the green room.

"Yeah, we're ready," Fitz replied.

He took Olivia's hand and they went down the to the motorcade to head home to Washington.

Two weeks later.

Olivia stood in the mirror in naked, observing the roundness of her stomach. Three and a half months pregnant and it was just beginning to get round which made her ecstatic, she could wait to get her full baby bump. Though it still wasn't visible to someone who didn't know she was pregnant, she could tell and so could Fitz and that's all that mattered.

Fitz walked into the closet, tying his necktie around his neck when he saw her looking in the mirror and walked over to her and rested his hand on her tiny bump.

"Just a few more months," he whispered.

"I've been calculating my due date and it'll be around election day."

"Really, I hadn't thought of that. Imagine if you gave birth on election day."

"I know right, oh the drama."

Fitz chuckled.

"How are we going to tell the world I'm pregnant, have you thought of it?"

"We could just put of a statement, no frills?"

"Or you could just kiss my stomach or rub it in public and let the rumors swirls."

"You're such a little trouble maker, I like that idea though, I'm in."

She smiled, "great and by the way, I'm going to the New York pride parade next month oh and James is coming with me."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it'll be fun and I'll think it'll send a great message of our support."

"I think that's great, just make sure you have top to bottom security."

"I will."

He kissed her shoulder.

"I have to go, what time are you coming home?"

"7 maybe."

"Okay, what are you working on at the lab? You teased me about it the other week and then you never followed up."

She sighed and smiled.

"I've been working on a tissue printer."

"A what? Tissue as in toilet paper?"

She laughed.

"No, tissue as in what forms parts of the human body, skin tissue, flesh, that sort of thing."

"Oh, I knew that, what's a tissue printer?"

"Let's say you got burned really badly, a tissue printer would be able to take your DNA and reprint your skin."

"How would it do that?"

"With lasers and it's a whole lot, I don't want to bore you with details."

"You don't bore me, I have to go but you can tell me all about it later."

He kissed her.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

He grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair and then headed out.

Olivia took her time getting dressed and then headed to the lab.

In the weeks that came things were hectic, in a good way. Olivia's bump grew with every passing week, though not as much as she like. At four months pregnant, they decided it was finally time to reveal it to the world, she couldn't hide it much longer. So one morning, when Fitz had to take marine one of to perform his presidential duties, she walked out on the south lawn with him, waved goodbye as he got ready to walk unto the helicopter, he kissed her and gently caressed her stomach for all to see.

The press went crazy. For days, it controlled the news cycle, with questions of whether or not she was actually pregnant and guesses on how far also she was. They let it go on for almost a week until one morning, after an event in the whitehouse. As Fitz was leaving, the press began shouting questions at him.

"ARE YOU AND OLIVIA POPE EXPECTING?"

"MR. PRESIDENT, IS FIRST LADY DR. OLIVIA POPE PREGNANT?"

Fitz stopped and turned around when he heard the question.

"Yes," he said with a smile.

"MR. PRESIDENT, ARE HAPPY?"

"There are no words," he smiled, "thank you, everyone, thank you."

He walked out and headed to his office. Then dialed Olivia.

"Fitz?"

"Hey, I just did it."

"You did?"

"Yes, they're gonna be camped out your office so be careful."

She chuckled.

"I will."

"Okay, I know you're busy so I'll call you later."

"Love you, bye."

"Love you too, bye."


	69. Chapter 69

Two months later.

Fitz sat at his desk going over some topics with his communications team just to make sure they were on the same page when his phone dinged. He saw that Olivia texted him and opened his phone to see the text, realizing it was a picture, he smiled, wondering what she sent him. When he opened the text, he was greeted by a pair of swollen, succulent breasts.

He cleared his throat.

"I need a minute, we'll resume in 30 minutes," he announced to the room.

Everyone nodded and filed out, once they were out be dialed Olivia and walked over to his door and locked it.

"Do you like them?" was the first thing she said once the line connected, not even bothering to say hello.

"Are you trying to kill me, I was in the middle of a meeting when you decided to send my damn heart rate up and give me an erection?"

"You have an erection right now?" she asked, amused.

"It's halfway there, just moan my name and I'll be cuming in my pants."

"Fitz..." she moaned.

"I'm hanging up."

"No, I'm in the residence, I left work early, that picture was my way of telling you to come up here and have sex with me, I'm really horny and hungry but I just ordered bacon wrapped shrimp which takes care of the hunger so now I'm just horny."

"Give me 5 minutes, you know that elevator is a little slow."

Olivia giggled over phone.

"4 minutes tops."

Fitz hung up and headed to the residence, thanking god the entire way for Olivia, he just couldn't fathom how he managed to be so lucky.

He got to the bedroom in 4 minutes and found Olivia on the bed naked, rubbing her baby bump. He quickly pulled off his jacket and tie as the walked over to her on the bed and kissed her, pulling off his pants and shirt simultaneously.

"I just need to tell you that you were the sexiest woman before but somehow even more so when you're pregnant, look at those fucking breast, I just want to suffocate myself with them," he said in between kisses.

She laughed, "oh my god, just hurry up and take it off, take it all off and stop telling me how much you want to die in my body parts."

Once Fitz was naked he climbed on the bed, there options when it came to different sex positions became more and more limited, however it was of no consequence because Olivia loved anything that resulted in an orgasm for her.

Olivia kneeled and bent over, poking her ass out for Fitz. he pulled her towards him and spread saliva on his tip then slowly slide his penis in.

He found it more than amusing to experience all the ways her body changed during pregnancy, her breasts, her hips and most interestingly her vagina, it somehow managed to get wetter than before, it was incredible.

"Mmhm," Olivia moaned softly.

"You like that baby?"

"Yess…I love it, do it harder."

She thrust her hips back on him.

"Oh shit, somebody's eager," he teased as he thrust forward to meet her hips.

Olivia smiled and bit her lips, "faster baby."

Fitz began pumping faster but he subconsciously couldn't bring himself to go too fast or too hard no matter how much she begged because she had his child inside her.

He grabbed onto her ass and spread her cheek apart as he continued to pump into her.

Fitz fucked her to an orgasm, holding her tightly as he came as well. Once the orgasm passed, Olivia dropped on the bed in front of him, trying to catch her breath.

"I'm not done with you yet baby?" he teased as he pulled her towards him with her legs spread out in front of him.

"Okay but just so you know, I ordered bacon wrapped shrimp and I told them to bring it in 30 minutes so they should be coming know."

"Wait- did you order enough for me?"

"Of course I did, it's your first favorite food, wrapped around your third favorite food."

Fitz smiled and laid beside her.

"Did you tell them to bring that sweet, spicy sauce on the side."

"Of course."

"What about round two?" she asked.

"Not when bacon wrapped shrimp is on it's way, you must be crazy."

Olivia gasped, feigning hurt and slapped his arm.

"Rude."

There was a knock on the door, "it's Paul from the kitchen Ms. Olivia."

Olivia sighed, "oh my god, this kid won't stop calling me Ms. Olivia, I feel like a 90 year old."

Fitz laughed, "yeah it does sound pretty bad."

"Coming," Olivia said loudly.

She got up slowly and pulled on her robe, tying a knot around her waist as she walked to the door to collect her food.

She took her food, thanked the aide gratefully and then closed the door and brought the tray back to the bed and laid beside Fitz.

She sniffed the food, "it's so beautiful," she said, fake crying.

Fitz took a shrimp and dipped it in the sauce and then fed it to Olivia.

"So," he said as he ate one as well, "why did you come home early today?" he asked.

"I was exhausted, with all the campaign travelling and work at the lab, I literally fell asleep at my desk today and I thought 'I'm pregnant, I have a excuse for everything for the next 4 months so I'm taking advantage,'."

Fitz chuckled.

"I'm sorry, I know the campaign is hectic, I keep telling you to let me take you off the schedule for some events, I don't want you travelling too much and wearing yourself out."

"I told you, I'm fine, I like travelling with you, if I didn't travel with you I'd never see you, you're so busy all the time."

"I'm sorry...I can take a few days off from campaigning."

"I told you, you don't have to, I'm fine I was just tired and I wanted to take the afternoon off, the last thing you need to do is to take time off, especially with the stunt Mellie just pulled."

"Mellie, the gift that keeps on giving?"

"Are you surprised?"

"That she would campaign for Reston against me, no. He's still behind in the polls and if there's anything Mellie's hates, it's losing, she'll give it up soon enough."

Fitz rubbed her stomach gently, "I wish I could just lay here with you for the rest of the evening, I'm exhausted."

"Then why don't you, just take the rest of the day off, lie and tell them you're sick or something and just lay here with me, It's not like you have any campaign events today."

"I want to but…"

"But?"

"I have a lot going on, I can't just take the evening off and didn't you just say the last thing I need to do is to take time off."

"I know but I said that 5 minutes ago, it's in the past, let it go Fitz and you can take the evening off, you're pregnant wife is begging you," Olivia said with a pout.

"You know, everytime you say that I do whatever you tell me to."

"Yeah, I know, that's why I say it."

She leaned over and kissed him and then bit a piece of her shrimp.

"Where would I be without you?" he wondered aloud.

"I don't know and as long as you act right, you'll never have to find out."

Fitz smiled, then he remembered the picture of her breast she sent earlier.

"I have to delete the picture you sent me."

"Why, my face isn't in it."

"I know but I can't risk it leaking, it won't good whether your face is in it or not, the media will either think it's you or someone else, and if it's someone else that means I'm cheating."

Olivia chuckled, "and if you're cheating then I'd have to kill you but don't worry, I'll be the main one at your funeral crying because I'd miss you after you were gone."

Fitz laughed, almost choking on his shrimp.

"You're the best," he smiled, "you remember our first date?"

"Of course, it was amazing and you looked so handsome, all night, you know I love you in a tux with your hair all slicked back."

She squeezed his cheek and kissed his nose.

"You know, if I weren't with you right now I probably have lost my mind already, I mean I can't can't get over how lucky I am, you married me, were having a kid in a few months, I never thought I'd have another kid and now it's happening, I'm just so excited."

Olivia smiled.

"Speaking of excitement, I wanted us to start shopping the baby."

"But we don't know what you're having, I thought you said you needed to know the sex before buying stuff."

"I know but I already planned on having our baby wear a lot of cream, I was thinking the whole nursery could be cream, I don't want our child to get stuck up on color-gender thing."

"I like cream, the whole boy blue, girl pink thing is...ugh."

Olivia reached over to the nightstand and grabbed her laptop.

"Let's spend some money, Bergdorf's has some really cute baby stuff."

"Let's do it," Fitz agreed.

She went to the website and then clicked the baby tab.

"What should we look at first?"

"Well… we'll need a baby carriage."

Olivia clicked the strollers and pram icon and they began looking through the options.

"I really like bugaboo pram- wait why don't we go to the website and see if they have more options."

"Yeah cause I think we'll need a different color, I don't like this color."

"Yeah me either."

She googled the Bugaboo website, she was elated when she saw they had an option to customize the pram, which they did, ordering it in a cream color and black base with additional accessories and then added it to the online shopping cart.

"Are you ready to order our first item for our baby?"

"Yes, let me get my credit card."

"Don't worry, I have it memorized."

Fitz chuckled as Olivia finished checking out the baby carrier and after she was finished they went back to the Bergdorf website. They didn't have many options when it came to clothes because they didn't know the sex of the baby so they stuck to baby blankets, bibs and plush toys.

"Fitz this bathrobe has little hood with ears, that's so cute, we have to get it," she said as she added it to the cart.

"You have to get that lamby, every kid needs a stuffed lamby."

"Did Gerry have one?"

"Yes, till he was like three, the thing was disgusting but he loved it."

Olivia smiled and added it to the cart.

"Oh my god, these bibs are shaped like animal, we have to get all of them," Olivia said with a chuckle and then sighed, "this is why I haven't looked at anything, it's so hard to shop for a baby when you don't know the sex, I mean look this dress it's so cute for a baby girl but also this little onesie is really cute for a baby boy, I need to know what I'm having."

"Yeah, I liked the idea of waiting but now it's like pulling teeth, the suspense is killing me."

"I know- look it's a stuffed cowboy pig, that's one of the cutest things I've ever seen."

Fitz laughed, "get it!"

They spent hours on the laptop shopping until Olivia was convinced that there was nothing else she could order without knowing the sex of the baby. She closed her laptop and put the empty plate from the bacon wrapped shrimp on top of the night stand.

"So, are you sure you're ready to know the sex because I can have the ultrasound tomorrow and maybe we can still throw the party, this weekend-if you have time?"

"Olivia I'll make time, you know that."

"I know that you're busy, we're both busy I just want to make sure I'm doing it at a time that good for you. I heard about this place, Abby told me about it, you tell them the sex of the baby and they bake either a blue or pink cake and then that's how you find out the gender."

"They can do that, I like that, we should do that."

"Okay perfect, let me call Abby."

Olivia grabbed her phone and dialed Abby, then put the phone on speaker.

"Liv, what's up."

"Hey, I'm here with Fitz, I told him about the whole gender reveal cake and we want to do it, this weekend because we're ready to know what we're having."

"Finally, shit, you know how long I've been telling you to do this but once Fitz says to do it, you know...let's plan a party," Abby teased.

"Shut up," Fitz chimed in.

Olivia and Abby laughed.

"I want a party, I want lots of food and candy, I want chocolate fountain and only invite people I like, you're the godmother though, so you have to plan it."

"Okay when?"

"Friday- is that good for you Fitz?

"Friday's good."

"Friday Abby, Friday's good, maybe around 6 in the evening. I'm going to get another ultrasound tomorrow and I'll have the doctor send you the results."

"Okay perfect."

"Alright, I'll talk to you later, bye."

"Wait- I wanna have some girl chat."

"Girl bye, I finally have my husband to myself after almost a month, we're spending time together, I can't chat with you right now."

"You live together, you always have him to yourself."

"Abby, you're breaking up- I gotta go, bye."

Olivia hung up quickly.

Fitz laughed, "you're terrible."

"What? Do you want to spend our time together talking to Abby."

"Of course not," he said laughing.

Olivia placed her phone on the nightstand.

"What time it is?" Fitz asked.

She reached over and checked her phone again.

"It's almost 7."

"Time is going by pretty fast."

"Yeah, why don't we grab a shower, maybe I'll give you a blowjob in the shower and you can give me the second round you promised me-"

"Continue."

Olivia smiled, "and then we can order some food from the kitchen and watch a movie and maybe have an early night and catch up on some sleep."

"That's sounds perfect," Fitz replied with a smile.

* * *

The next night Olivia laid in bed with her 5 months pregnant stomach waiting for Fitz to come to the residence. It was late, she'd called him a couple time but he didn't return her calls and she thought to go to his office but she knew he was busy, that's the only time he didn't return her calls.

Every night Fitz would rub her stomach with oil partly to minimize stretch marks but also because she thought it was a great way from him to bond with their unborn child. He would talk or sing to her belly. She was beginning to feel slight flutters but not out right kicks at 5 months and those flutters would multiply exponentially whenever Fitz sang or spoke to her stomach.

She turned on the news as she waited, it was almost midnight, all they were covering was the latest chemical attack in Syria that killed thousands of men, women and children.

It bothered her, it more than bothered her it hurt her heart and apart of the reason she so anxiously wanted to see Fitz was to ask him what his plans was when it came to Syria.

She watched as all the pundits voiced their opinion on what he should do next. Frustrated, she began flipping through the channels because that one panel was being particularly harsh on Fitz and she couldn't stand it, that was when Fitz opened the door and walked in, looking worst than she expected. She muted the tv and sat up on the bed.

"Fitz are you okay?"

"It's been a long, disastrous day."

He walked over to her and stopped by the side of the bed, leaning down to kiss on the lips and then kiss her stomach her before he pulled off his jacket. He could see Max sleeping cozily beside her on the bed.

"Can we talk about it?"

"Yeah but can I just shower first, I'll be quick."

Olivia nodded, "okay, a really quick shower, did you eat dinner at your office?"

"No, I didn't get a chance to."

"Okay, I'll go to the kitchen and grab you something while you shower."

"Thanks."

She got up slowly and slid on her bed slippers then headed to the kitchen. The late chef was on duty so she had him make a quick bacon turkey sandwich for Fitz and as she watched the chef prepare the sandwich she realized she wanted one as well and had him prepare one for her too. When the food was finished she brought the tray of sandwiches back to the bedroom and found Fitz sitting on the bed in his robe, drying his wet hair.

"I have dinner," she said cheerfully.

She walked over and placed the tray on the bed then sat beside him.

"So what's up?"

"Wait, are these two sandwiches for me?" he asked, looking down at the tray.

"No, of course not, one's for me, I'm pregnant and I'm always hungry, you should be glad I'm not eating both of them."

He smiled and turned to Max.

"You spoil him you know, you and Gerry, he's gonna have a hard time adjusting when the baby comes. He sleeps in our bed most nights and when he's not in our bed, he's in Gerry's bed."

"I'm pretty sure Max sleeping in our bed is not the reason you worked till 12 tonight," she said as she bit a piece of her sandwich, "eat please."

Fitz took a bite of his sandwich then rested it back on the tray and picked Max up and brought him over to his doggie bed.

"Fitz no, I'm feeling maternal and I like Max sleeping in our bed."

Fitz brought him back to Olivia and rested him in her lap. She petted him with one hand and ate her sandwich with the other.

"Fitz what's going on, is it what's happening in Syria?"

"No."

"Are you still mad that Mellie is campaigning with Reston?"

He sighed and laid beside her on the bed.

"A story is going to break tomorrow."

"How bad is it?" Olivia said, slightly nervous and hoping badly it had nothing to do with her.

"Bad."

"Is it me?"

"No, if it was you I would have given you a heads up a lot earlier."

"So then who is it?"

"Mellie."

"Mellie, what about Mellie and why are you so bothered by it, after everything she's done and is still doing I think she deserves a little comeuppance."

Fitz sighed, she could see he was annoyed by her comment.

"The Times dig some digging and they know about Mellie's affair."

"Do they know that the man she was with tried to assassinate you."

"They know and they know that I knew about it."

"Oh my god."

"Yep, I have no idea how I'm going to tell Gerry, I spent all day trying to kill this story but they are dead set on running it, can you imagine," Fitz said laughing, "the first lady whose lover tried to kill the president? That story's gonna go down in infamy."

"I'm really sorry, I know you don't need this right now," she said.

Fitz sighed, "it's been a shitty, shitty day and then with the whole Syria thing too, everyone wants me to go to war, as if I can just get up and invade a country like I'm some king."

"They're killing children," Olivia stated simply.

"I know that but that doesn't mean I'm going to start a war that going to result in the deaths of even more people and cause even more atrocities just to stop the original atrocity."

"I'm not saying go to war, you know I don't believe in war, I'd never tell you to do that."

"Then what should I do?" he asked, genuinely needing her input.

"You can give them refuge; work with all the surrounding, stable countries in the middle east and Europe and even Australia to commit to taking refugees, even if it's a temporary basis."

"That's what I've been exploring but congress has already said they're not prepared to take in anymore refugees-"

"You've been at this all day," Olivia said cutting him off, "you need to eat and relax, we can talk more about it tomorrow and you need to figure out how you're going to tell Gerry about Mellie because he can't find out from the news or while he's at school."

"I know, I'm gonna pull him from school tomorrow."

Olivia laid back against the pillows and covered her legs with the blanket, Fitz threw the towel he had been using to dry his hair on the floor and then joined her under the covers.

"Should I have Abby cancel the party?"

"No, it's going to be a long weekend, we're gonna need a little fun."

"What do you think will happen, you know, when everyone finds out?"

"They're gonna open an investigation into Mellie."

"Did you give her a heads up."

"Yeah, I called her."

Olivia sighed and Fitz could tell she was annoyed.

"Olivia, regardless of my feelings for her, she is Gerry's mother."

"I know."

"So then what?"

"I don't know, I'm just annoyed."

"Why?"

"Because- I feel like you're defending her."

"She's Gerry's mother what am I supposed to do, I can't just hang her out to dry."

"She had her boyfriend try to kill you, she didn't care about Gerry when she did that."

"I know but if I played a tit for tat game with Mellie, it'll never end."

"She did it and they going to find her guilty after they complete their investigation, do you plan on pardoning her."

Fitz sighed, "Olivia, look- this is upsetting you so maybe we just shouldn't discuss it."

Olivia palmed her cheeks and sighed, "okay, fine."

"Do you want me to rub your stomach tonight?" he asked, hoping it would lighten her up.

"No."

"Oh come on Liv, please, I have a lot going on, I don't imagine Gerry's going to be happy tomorrow, I have Syria, North Korea, Iran, Russia and Pakistan on my ass, plus the campaign and congress and you're literally my only solace at the end of the day so please…"

"Okay, okay, okay, fine, you can rub my stomach."

"You're not upset?"

"Well not after you guilt tripped the hell outta me I'm not."

Fitz smiled and loosened the tie on her robe and opened it revealing her stomach then he reached over on the night table and took the bottle of oil then dripped it all over her stomach and began rubbing circles around her stomach.

Olivia leaned back and got comfortable.

"Sing to him," Olivia said.

"Her, you mean."

"I'm having a boy, I already told you that."

He chuckled.

"Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste…"

Olivia smiled, "Sympathy for the devil by The Rolling Stones. Our kid's gonna have great taste in music if you keep it up."

Fitz leaned over and kissed her on the lips, "I love you so much."

"I love you too," she said as she squeezed his cheeks.

He resumed singing to her as he rubbed her stomach until Olivia reached down and pulled his robe open then she spread her legs open and then she pulled him down by the collar of his robe and kissed him.

"I want you," she whispered.

Fitz pulled off his robe entirely and leaned over and felt in between her legs to gauge how wet she was before sliding himself in slowly and thrusting.

"Mmm...Fitz," she moaned.

He leaned over and kissed her.

"I love you," she whispered.

He kissed her again.

"I love you too."

Fitz pumped into her slowly, gripping his hands on her inner thigh to hold her leg open. He leaned down again and kissed her again then he stopped and switched their positions, lying behind her, in a spooning position and then he held her leg up in the air and entered her slowly again.

He took his time thrusting, kissing and licking her ear from behind. Olivia closed her eyes and slowly moved his hands from her stomach up to her breast, entwining her finger with his tightly.

She felt her orgasm slowly build with each stroke Fitz gave her.

There was something so new and intimate about sex with Fitz while being pregnant, somehow she felt more...love.

After a few more strokes, her orgasm took her. She squeezed his hand tightly, riding out her orgasm as Fitz came as well.

They laid in silence, panting, until Fitz finally pulled out and lean over on top of her, away from her stomach and kissed then he cuddled her under the blanket until they both fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning when Olivia woke up, Fitz was gone. She showered, brushed her teeth and got dressed and once she was done and preparing to call him to see where he was, Fitz walked through the door, he looked upset.

"What happened, did you talk to Gerry?"

"Yes and he's not happy, he hates Mellie for what she did and he hates me for not telling him."

"He's mad at you?"

"Yep."

"Did the story break yet?"

"No, not yet."

He walked over and sat on the armchair and loosened his tie. Olivia walked over to him and rested hands on his shoulders, "do you want me to talk to Gerry?" she asked.

"Would you, I feel like he listens to you."

"Yeah, I'll talk to him, where are you headed after this?"

"Oval."

"Okay, I'll meet you there- wait- did you have breakfast?"

"No, I had coffee but I'm alright."

"When I'm done talking to Gerry, we can have breakfast-"

"I'm not really hungry."

"You're eating."

Olivia slipped on her fluffy bed slippers, "I'll see you in a little while," she said as she headed out the door.

She walked down the hall to Gerry's room and took a deep breath before knocking his door; she waited a few seconds and when he didn't respond she knocked again.

"Gerry, it's Olivia can we talk."

A few seconds later, Gerry opened the door, allowing her to walk in. She sat on his armchair by his bed as Gerry sat on his bed, wrapped in the towel robe. He looked exactly like Fitz when he was angry.

"You look exactly like your father, when you're angry."

"Liv-"

"I know you're angry with your father right now so you don't want to hear it but regardless, it's true."

"Did he send you to talk to me?"

"He doesn't send me to do anything, I offered."

"Olivia, I'm not talking to him."

"Why not, tell me why you're so angry?"

"Because how could he keep that from me, ever since the divorce he's been forcing me to visit her, saying I need a relationship with my mom but how can he honestly think that when she had her boyfriend try to kill him- I mean, when he got shot she sat with me in the hospital acting as if it was the end of the world that dad got shot when she was the one who did it to him, how can I want a relationship with that."

"Gerry, I think you're being a little hard on you're father-"

"Of course you do, you're always on his side," Gerry said with a sigh, "my entire life he's been forcing this relationship between me and her when he knows how she is."

"Gerry, she's your mother."

"My mother that never loved or cared about me, barely spoke to me when I was younger, I was always with nannies or my dad, she never knew anything about me, she is a and always has been a terrible mother and dad was always made excuses for her and I'm sick of it."

"Your dad is a great father-"

"Obviously he's not that great," Gerry quipped.

Olivia had been trying to be understanding but now she was annoyed.

"My father sold me to terrorists to be beaten and starved for months and couldn't care less about whether or not I survived. What's the worst thing your father has ever done to you? I'll wait."

Gerry didn't respond, he couldn't.

"How long would you have to think before you could come up with something? Your mother hurt him, he was the one who laid with a bullet in his head in the hospital not you, he could have thrown her in jail but the only reason he didn't was because she's your mother, the only reason he protects her is because she's your mother, because he wants to protect you."

Olivia stood up slowly.

"A lot of people have shitty parents Gerry, most of the time they are worse than Mellie."

Olivia walked out and closed the door behind her then headed to the kitchen to grab breakfast. She was still annoyed at Gerry for his rational at being mad at Fitz but she has positive that he'd get over it soon enough, she'd never really known Gerry to be a brat.

She sat in the kitchen for almost 15 minutes as they prepared breakfast and once the food was done she headed to the oval office to meet Fitz.

She was surprised when she walked in and found Gerry and Fitz talking by the window, they shared a brief hug before they both turned around. Gerry headed for the exit, "thanks Liv," he said as walked through the door.

Olivia walked over to Fitz's desk and place the tray of food down.

"He apologized?"

"Yes, what did you say to him?"

"I told him to quit being a punk."

Fitz's mouth fell open in astonishment.

"I'm kidding baby, sheesh."

"No- I'm just- that would've been hilarious if you did."

Olivia chuckled, "no."

Fitz pulled up a chair in front of his desk so she could sit while they ate breakfast. In the middle of breakfast, the was a knock on Fitz's office door.

"It's showtime," Fitz said as he took his last piece of bacon.

"Come," he said loudly.

"Sir, it's up," his communication director said.

"Okay, well you know what to do," Fitz replied.

"Yes sir."

The man closed the door and headed out. Fitz stood up and straightened his jacket, "I have to go take care of some things are you gonna stay here?"

"No, I'm going to the residence, just call me if you need me to come back okay."

Fitz nodded and kissed her softly on the lips before heading out.

* * *

Olivia expected it to be bad, she didn't expect it to be disastrous. There were protests, there were congressional leaders calling for investigations, it was utter chaos. For the most part, everyone seemed sympathetic to Fitz but regardless they questioned why he didn't reveal that Mellie had been apart of the assassination attempt. Fitz released a statement saying they'd already investigated, and that while he knew about the affair, they couldn't prove Mellie had actually ordered her lover to assassinate him and that worked for a while but then other questions arose.

Olivia was adamant about canceling the gender reveal party but Fitz insisted it go on as planned.

It was friday evening, the party had already begun and Olivia and Fitz were running late because Fitz been on back to back calls with congressional leaders.

"Fitz we're almost an hour late," Olivia complained, "I told you we should have just cancelled."

"Just one sec, I'm coming right now."

Fitz stayed on the called for a few more minutes and then he finally hung up.

"I'm sorry it took so long."

"It's okay...I-I don't want to go."

"What do you mean you don't want to go."

"There is so much chaos right now and I really don't want to have this whole gender reveal party with all these people and have to pretend and smile, I'm not in the mood."

"There are a lot of people waiting for us, you want to blow them off."

"Yes."

"So you don't want to know the sex of our baby?"

"I do, just not at this party with all the excitement and people."

"Okay then...I guess we'll tell them something came up."

"Are you annoyed?"

"A little...I was looking forward to this after a crazy week, I'm ready to know what the sex of the baby is, I don't want to wait any longer."

Olivia had an idea.

"Stay here, I'll be right back."

Olivia went to the yellow room where everyone had gathered for the party, she made up some excuse as to why Fitz couldn't attend the party and since he wasn't able to attend they couldn't reveal the gender. She apologized profusely and thanked them all for coming then she took the cake from Abby, practically running from her to avoid further conversation and went back to the residence.

She walked out to the balcony where Fitz was sitting on the couch and placed the cake on the coffee table in front of him.

"You took it?" he said with a smile.

"Yep, Abby is furious but I'll deal with that tomorrow."

Fitz chuckled, "do you have a knife?"

"No, I was running so fast from everyone I didn't get a chance to get one."

"Okay, I'm gonna run to the kitchen, I'll be right back."

While Fitz went for the silverware and plates, Olivia took of her off heels and got comfortable on the couch. He was back after 5 minutes with forks, plates, a knife and 2 bottles of water. He sat beside Olivia and placed all the item on the table except for the knife.

"Do you wanna cut it?" he asked.

"No, you do it?"

"Okay but wait…this is the final time I'm going to ask you: girl or boy?"

"I'll be happy with either."

Fitz smiled, "me too."

"Okay now cut it, I'm anxious."

Fitz stuck the knife into the cake and cut a slanted line and then pulled out the knife, revealing blue cake.

"It's a boy," Olivia screamed, "we're having a boy! Yes! I told you!"

Fitz dropped the knife in the cake and kissed her excitedly.

"A boy!"

* * *

A/N - The next chapter will be the last. 


	70. Chapter 70

Olivia twisted and turned in her sleep to the point that it woke up Fitz. He sat up and turned on the night lamp and noticed she was having cold sweats. He nudged her arm, trying to wake her.

"Livvie, wake up, you're having a nightmare again."

She was still asleep when she began screaming and clawing at her skin.

"Livvie, come on, wake up."

He nudged her again and this time she jumped out of her sleep.

"-What's going on, where am I?"

"You're with me, you're okay, you were having a nightmare."

He used to blanket to wipe the cold sweat from her forehead.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

She took a deep breath, "yeah."

Olivia leaned back on the pillow and rub her 37 weeks pregnant stomach, it was huge. Fitz gave her a moment to calm down.

"Where were you this time?"

"Iran, again."

He wrapped her in a hug and kissed her. "I'm sorry baby, this is the third one this week, is there a reason?"

"No, I mean- I feel fine, I haven't had one for months and now- that's weird."

"Yeah, are you sure there's nothing, no trigger? The nightmares stopped for a long time and now all of a sudden they're back three nights in a row."

"No, I guess it could just be that I'm nervous about giving birth," she said as she rubbed her stomach, "our little tike is almost here and he's going to give my vagina hell."

Fitz chuckled and rubbed her stomach gently, "yes he is."

"Our little Luca."

"I thought we were going with Noah, you loved Noah."

Olivia bit her lip and smiled, "I know but this so much better, it's Italian."

Fitz chuckled, "this is a great debate... for tomorrow. I'm exhausted but I can't sleep until you sleep."

She reached over and looked at the time.

"It's 4 in the morning, I'm not going back to sleep, you know that," she said as she sat up.

"No, no, no, you have to sleep," Fitz said, sitting up as well, "we have that campaign thing later, please."

"Go to sleep, I'm gonna walk around the halls like a ghost, you know how I do.."

Fitz chuckled, "it's not funny, just lay in bed with me."

"Fine," Olivia relented, "I'll lay here, go back to sleep."

Fitz smiled and kissed her, she leaned back on the bed and allowed him to cuddle her and minutes later he was fast asleep and once she was sure he was deep in sleep she got up and went to her closest for a coat then grabbed her phone and headphones and stopped by the kitchen for some chips then made her way outside to walk around in the rose garden as she listened to music and ate her chips.

It was early October, and slightly chilly outside but the air did her some good and it wasn't until the sun began to rise that she decided to go back inside.

When Olivia walked into the bedroom, Fitz was sitting up in the bed.

"Morning,"she said with a smile as she pulled off her coat and sat on the bed.

"Not funny, I was just about to come look for you."

"You know I always do this, I don't know why you worry."

Fitz stood up and stretched, "I'm gonna shower, wanna join me?"

"Yes, I guess," she teased.

He walked over to her side of the bed and swept her up in his arms.

"Put me down," she protested, laughing as he carried her to the bathroom.

He put her down once they reached the bathroom and then turned on the faucet in the shower. As Fitz gauged the water, Olivia stood in front of the mirror and undressed. When Fitz set the water he walked back over to Olivia and began undressing as well.

Olivia stood watching him delightfully and once he was naked she stepped in front of him and wrapped her arms around his waist then reached up and kissed him on the lips.

"Do you want a blowjob?"

Fitz smiled, "what is what? A trick question? I'm not gonna say no."

She held unto his hands, "help me down, I'm fat."

He laughed, "stop it, you're not."

Fitz helped her down on the ground and then he leaned back against the wall.

She began stroking him, twisting and swiveling up and down his shaft. She looked up at Fitz who was looking down at her and smirked then she kissed his tip and blew on it.

"Woah."

"You like that?" she teased.

Fitz laughed, "you are such a little tease."

She licked his tip.

"Sweet god, here we go."

"Stop acting like you're dying," she laughed.

"What, it's been a 2 weeks. I'm excited."

"Yes, I'm 8 months pregnant, I can't blow you everyday, I'm way too tired."

"I'm not complaining. I promise."

She licked it tip again and he chuckled which made her laugh.

"Fitz-"

"No, no, no, ignore me, that wasn't on purpose."

Olivia pulled back and covered her mouth before she broke into a laugh.

"What?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, it's just-you're so dramatic."

"I'm not dramatic-"

He was cut of by her warm tongue on his tip again.

"Lordy-"

Olivia stopped and stood up, "that's it, blowjob cancelled."

Fitz wrapped his arms around and held her, "no, I'll behave, I promise."

She smiled and got down again. This time when she spat on his tip and licked him, he didn't make a sound. She giggled and continued, alternating between licking and sucking him and then she made him finish on her breast.

Once he caught his breath he helped her up off the floor.

"Are you good now, will you survive another day?" Olivia asked, jokingly.

"I think I might," he quipped.

Olivia rolled her eyes and walked into the shower, Fitz joined her moments later and then they showered together, brushed their teeth and then got dressed for Fitz campaign event in Virginia.

After his stump speech at the rally, they gathered in the arena cafeteria for a press lunch. Fitz was in the middle of an interview, when he heard cross taking in the room and wondered what the excitement was about. He turned around and saw Olivia by the buffet table, she didn't notice everyone staring at her as she bopped her head side to side, dancing as she walk around the table grabbing food for her second plate.

Everyone started laughing and that when she looked up and realized that everyone was staring at her, including Fitz who had a huge grin on his face.

"Are those two plates for you?" he asked, teasing.

"What? I'm pregnant, I deserve two!"

He laughed and walked over to her by the buffet and kissed her temple, "you're the best."

She smiled, "yeah, I know."

Later that night, all the late night comedy show went wall to wall with the footage of Olivia dancing as she fixed her plate. She laid in bed beside Fitz, watching the tv.

"I don't think it's that funny," she said as she placed another potato chip in her mouth.

Fitz continued the massage her feet with oil, pressing his thumbs against the instep of her foot in a circular motion.

"It's because you look so happy about the food, it's hilarious."

She smiled, "I like food. Food makes me happy."

"My penis supposedly makes you happy and you've never danced like that for it. I don't know what food does to you."

She chuckled and rolled her eyes, "I've danced for your penis before, so many times."

"Yeah, when?"

"When it's inside me, my vagina dances up and down and all around it."

He laughed, "stop it, I'm gonna get hard."

"Oh really?"

She leaned up slowly and felt his crotch.

"Someone's getting a semi-"

She dug her hand in his underpants and pulled him in between her legs as he laughed and leaned on top of her.

Olivia pulled up her silk nightgown, "help me take my underwear off."

He eased her up slightly and pulled off her underwear then he pulled off his underpants.

"Feel it," she grabbed his hand and ran it in between her legs.

"Sweet jesus," he said as he ran slid his fingers inside her, feeling how wet she was.

"Don't start Fitz-" she giggled.

He chuckled and leaned over her, kissing her slowly as he slipped his penis inside her.

"I won't," he responded.

She held her breast to stop them from bouncing up and down with every thrust. They were sensitive in the waning months of pregnancy.

Fitz held her legs open as he thrusted.

"Fitz-" she moaned, "I want it from behind-"

He stopped and slowly turned her over on all fours and then kneeled behind her, entering her again. It only took them minutes to come to an orgasm. Olivia was the first to plop down on the bed, Fitz dropped behind her and pulled the comforter over them both. He wrapped his arms around her stomach and kissed her shoulder.

"That was delicious," she said with a giggle.

He kissed her shoulder again and chuckled.

"Now- I don't know if you saw this but first lady Olivia Pope was at a campaign lunch today with the president and there's this video, it's hilarious and I want you to take a look at it."

Olivia reached over and grabbed the remote and turned off the tv.

"Annoying," she said with a shrug.

"You mean, hilarious."

She slapped him on the leg, "shut up."

"Alright, alright."

He snuggled closer to her and hugged her tighter, "I love you so much."

She smiled, "I love you too, now go to bed, we have an annoying busy day tomorrow."

"Isn't everyday annoyingly busy."

"Well...yeah," she said with a smile.

They laid, silently cuddling until they both drifted to sleep.

Fitz woke up in the middle of the night, frantic, searching for Olivia.

"Liv?" he called. She wasn't on the bed, nor was she in the bedroom.

He stood up and put on his underpants to go search for her just to have her walk into the bedroom as he was getting dressed. She had a bag of popcorn in one hand and potato chip in the other.

"Wha happened?" she asked as she ate.

"I was looking for you, I had a weird nightmare and-whatever, where were you?"

"I was in the kitchen and then I went to Luca's nursery to refold his little onesies for the thousandth time then I heard you call me."

"Why are you up?"

"I had a nightmare too, couldn't go back to sleep."

"What was it about?" Fitz asked.

Olivia walked over to the bed and sat down.

"Same thing I always have nightmare about. What did you dream about?"

Fitz sat on the bed as well, "nothing."

"Oh come on baby, tell me," she leaned back against her pillow and leaned over and kissed him.

"Eww, you're really sweaty," she teased.

Fitz smiled and wiped his face with his hands.

"Okay, what did you dream?"

He hesitated before answering, "you."

"What about me?"

"You were hurt."

"How?"

"I don't wanna upset you, so maybe we should just forget it."

"You already opened the door, you have to tell me."

"Olivia-"

"Tell me!"

"No."

"Please."

"No."

Olivia rolled her eyes.

"Fine."

They were both silent for a while. He leaned over and checked the time on his watch, it was almost 5am.

"Can I get a kiss?" he asked.

She leaned over and kissed him. Then she rolled up her potato chip and popcorn bag and placed it on the nightstand and then the rested her head against the pillow.

"Are you going back to sleep?" he asked.

"No, I'm just gonna lay down-wait-" she paused, "he's moving."

She grabbed his hand quickly and placed it on her stomach.

Fitz ran his hands over her stomach, feeling the movement. "He's moving alot, wow, what is he doing in there, cartwheels," Fitz joked.

Olivia clapped her hands excitedly, "I can't wait to see him, I want him to be so fat and scrumptious."

"Well the doctor said he's gonna be big so have fun pushing that out."

"I really don't want to have a c-section, I think I can push him out, he's like 8 pounds now, the doctor think he'll be 9 pounds by the time I'm due."

"You still don't want an epidural?"

"No- by the way you better make sure you're nowhere further than 2 hours away the week I have to give birth because if I push this baby out and you're not beside me, I'm filing for divorce."

"Really?"

"Oh yes, I'm serious and I'm gonna marry someone else and force you to be my sidepiece because I'm still gonna want to have sex with you."

Fitz burst into laughter, "that's very specific, have you been thinking about this alot."

"Only, 4 four times in the past hour."

"What?"

"I was bored, walking around folding baby clothes and for some reason I got resentful."

He chuckled, "why?"

"I don't know, thinking about the fact that I'll have to give birth and be in pain while you get to stand there and look cute."

"I won't be standing looking cute, I'll be right by your side the entire time, holding your sweaty palms as you push and feel contractions."

She slapped his arm, "shut up, my palms won't be that sweaty."

"Olivia, you will be sweating bullets, I can promise you that, your hair is gonna be a mess, you're gonna look crazy and you know what? You won't even care."

She chuckled, "I've helped women give birth before, I know the drill."

He snuggled close to her and kissed her stomach, "come on Luca, if you got here a little early, I wouldn't complain."

"Aww, you called him Luca, I told you it works and no- do not encourage him to come early, he's gonna come when he's good and ready."

"What if a girl comes instead, that happens all the time you know."

"No, I've seen his little pee pee, it's a boy."

"Pee pee?"

"Yeah."

He smiled and shook his head.

They laid in bed, bantering back and forth until the sun rose and it was time to get ready for the day. Fitz was the first to leave for the oval office to begin preparing for his bilateral meeting, Olivia met him a half hour before his meeting was set to begin. She'd been spending less time at the lab, most days she worked a half day, other days she didn't work at all. Apart from the fact that she just found it hard to physically work a full rigorous day like she used to, she spent most of her time campaigning with Fitz. When she wasn't campaigning or a the lab, she was working on theories and equations and writing notes on her computer. She was only a week away from taking her three month maternity leave which meant she wouldn't be going to the lab at all, though she did plan to continue working on her computer.

She sat in the oval, away from the press and chaos until they called her to greet the Chancellor with Fitz and after the meet and greet, she headed to the news conference in the Rose Garden.

She stood behind Fitz, with Cyrus by her side as Fitz and the Chancellor both gave their speeches and began fielding questions from the press corp.

She felt perfectly normal, until she didn't. At first, she only felt a little anxious, which wasn't unusual when she was standing in front of cameras but then she heart began racing and her breath quickened. She gently ran her hands over her stomach to calm herself.

"Am I going into labor-no that can't be it," she said to herself.

She slowly began to lose feeling in her fingertips, so she held her hands by her side and rubbed her fingers against each other. She took a deep breath and tried to keep calm then suddenly she felt a sharp pain shoot up her spine and then it abruptly went away but it left her dizzy. She swayed back and forth.

Cyrus noticed that she seemed odd, "are you okay?" he whispered. He waited for her to respond but she didn't so he shrugged and focused his attention back to Fitz.

She stood still for another 30 seconds and then she felt something warm run down her chin and brought her finger up to feel what it was. It was blood coming from her nose, dripping down her chin and on her blush pink dress. That was when members of the press and audience began gasping.

Instantaneously, the pain came, rippling through her skull as if someone was slowly cutting her head open.

Fitz heard the gasps and turned around just in time to see Olivia grabbed her head and drop to the floor. He heard loudly when her skull hit the stage and he wasn't sure if he took one step or two or if he even jumped over to her but in seconds he was beside her, on the ground holding her.

"Livie, talk to me baby, what's going on?" he said frantically.

He could visibly see that she was in pain, she was rigid and squeezing tightly onto his hand until her grip loosened and he felt her relax in his arms.

"Olivia! Olivia!" he screamed.

She was unresponsive, her eyes were open with her pupils dilated.

She was too still, Fitz checked her pulse and felt nothing.

"She's not breathing," he yelled.

"Emergency services is on the way," Cyrus said in a panic.

Unsure of what else to do, Fitz began performing cpr.

"Come on baby, breathe, you have to breathe."

He pinched her nose and blew air into her mouth then he pressed against her chest then checked his watch to time himself. His hands were shaking.

"Oh my god, this is not happening! Olivia breathe, come on baby please!"

Though there was utter chaos surrounding him, he couldn't hear any of it, all he could focus on was Olivia.

Seconds later, the sound of sirens broke through all the clamor. The emt personnel sprinted over with the stretcher.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god," he said frantically as his initial shock began to wear down and he was fully realizing the depth of the situation. He continued her chest compressions until the paramedics parked the stretcher beside the stage and hopped on the stage. Secret service had been busy clearing the stage and blocking off the press.

"Mr. President we need to take her," one paramedic said.

Fitz quickly gave them space to take her. The two men lifted her unto the stretcher and strapped her in.

"How far along is she?" the man asked quickly as he placed an oxygen mask on her face.

"37 weeks," Fitz answered quickly.

They took off with the stretcher in the direction of the ambulance that had just landed, the one they always had on standby for Fitz. Fitz followed behind them and as he was about to step into the ambulance Fitz felt someone grab his arm, it was Tom.

"Mr. president, we can't have you travelling in an unarmored vehicle. We can follow behind in the motorcade."

"Yes, you can follow behind, I'm not leaving my wife! Meet me at the hospital and make sure it's secure for her."

Fitz pulled his arm away and got into the ambulance quickly. The paramedic closed the door behind him and they sped off. Fitz stood watching as they used the defibrillator to try and resuscitate her. He could hear them on the phone with the hospital preparing the doctors for her arrival.

Fitz held onto her free hand just so she would know he was right beside her.

The paramedics were simultaneous shouting things at each other as they worked on Olivia and spoke with the hospital.

"Okay, they're prepping for a c-section stat," one of the emt workers said to the others.

"Wh-wha-a-a c-section, why, she's not due for another 3 weeks?" Fitz asked.

"She's not breathing which means the baby isn't breathing, we have to take it."

Seconds later they arrived at the hospital and parked in the ambulance bay by the back entrance. Fitz jumped out first to get out of the way so they could carry her out and once they got the stretcher out and got to the entrance a team of doctors greeted them and they rushed down the hall with her and into the triage center, leaving Fitz in the hallway.

Only a few of his agents were at the hospital, lining the halls, Tom and his main agents hadn't arrived yet.

Fitz stood in the hallway by himself, pacing anxiously, nervously, completely terrified.

"Stay calm, stay calm, she's gonna be fine." he took a deep breath and stooped down the his cell phone rang. He didn't feel like speaking with anyone but it was Gerry, who no doubt had heard what happened so he answered.

"Gerry?" he said softly.

"Dad what happened to Olivia?"

"I don't know-she-she just stopped breathing. She's with the doctors right now, I think they going to take the baby."

"What do you mean take the baby?"

"They're going to give her a c-section."

Fitz turned and saw Cyrus, Tom and a squad of more agents walking down the hall from the entrance.

"Dad, I'm leaving school, I'm trying to get there as quickly as I can."

"Okay, please hurry Gerry."

"Okay dad I'm coming."

He hung up and right then Cyrus approached him.

"Where is she?" he asked quickly.

"She-she's in surgery- do you have any idea what happened, did you see anything?" Fitz asked, searching for answers.

Cyrus pinched his nose, thinking deeply, "I don't know, I saw her sway back and forth maybe a 30 seconds before she fell, I asked her if she was alright but she didn't answer."

Fitz shook his head, "did you see anything else?"

"No, not that I could tell, we spoke before and she seemed fine."

Fitz phone rang again, it was Abby but he let it ring out. She called again, seconds later and then again.

"Fitz, you need to answer the phone."

"I can't, I don't want to talk to anyone."

Abby called again.

"Let me talk to her," it's her friend you know she want them to know what's going on," Cyrus said as he took the phone from Fitz and then answered.

"Hello?" he said.

"Who is this?" Abby said.

"It's Cyrus."

"What's happened to Olivia?"

"We don't know, she's in surgery."

"Where is the president?" Abby asked.

"He's standing here."

"Can I talk to him?"

"He doesn't want to talk?"

"Can you give him the phone please!" Abby said in a panic.

"I'm sorry," Cyrus took a few steps away from Fitz, "you have to understand Red, he's processing a lot right now, he doesn't want to talk."

"Just please please please keep me posted, I'm at work and I can't even think but I have a patient-I have to go."

"Once we find out anything I'll let you know."

Once Abby hung up, Cyrus silence the ringer on the phone and shoved it his pocket.

Fitz continued to pace slowly and chechekd his watch.

"It's been 10 minutes, what are they doing?"

"You have to be patient, I'm sure they have everything under control," Cyrus replied, trying to calm him.

"She wasn't breathing," he checked his watch again, "how long wasn't she breathing, how long did it take for us to get here?"

"It didn't take long."

"It took maybe 4 minutes, that means she wasn't breathing for four minutes and that means the baby wasn't breathing for 4 minutes."

"She's gonna be alright."

"She didn't have a pulse Cyrus, don't tell me everything's gonna be alright because it's not!" he yelled.

"Fitz you need to stay calm, if she was dead, they would've told you already. She's a fighter, she'll be alright just give them time to do their job."

Fitz took a deep breath and tried to calm down, his hands hadn't stopped shaking since he left the Rose Garden.

An hour passed, there was still no update.

"What's taking so long?" Fitz asked.

"That's a good sign, trust me."

"You think so?" he said nervously.

Two doctor burst through the triage doors. Fitz remembered them for when they received Olivia at the entrance and ran over to them quickly.

"Mr. President- first let me say your wife is okay, she's resting and your son is okay as well."

"THANK GOD," he said with a sigh of relief. "Is she awake?"

"No but your son is, we can take you to see him but we wanted to first brief you on her diagnosis-"

"Yeah- after I see them," Fitz said pointedly.

The doctor nodded and headed back through the triage door with Fitz in tow. As they walked down the hall, the doctors stopped at the third door and opened it.

When opened the door, it was as if a 1000 pound weight had been lifted off his shoulder, that's what the relief felt like. Olivia was laying against her pillows, fast asleep. She had a nasal cannula inserted in her nose and wrapped behind her ears, hooked to a ventilator. He could hear her steady heartbeat echoing through the room.

A nurse was standing by the baby trolley directly beside Olivia's bed. He walked over to the trolley and looked down at his newborn son for the first time. He couldn't help but smile, he'd been preparing for the worst and though he wished it was a normal birth, where he got to coach her through delivery while she screamed at him and told him how much pain she was in, and got the chance to cut the umbilical cord, none of it mattered, he was just happy they were both safe.

"Can I hold my son?" Fitz asked the nurse.

"You mean daughter?" the nurse said.

Fitz mouth dropped open, "really?"

"No, your wife told me to say that to you when she was briefly awake."

Fitz chuckled and took a few steps closer to Olivia and kissed her forehead meanwhile the nurse took the baby from the trolley. Fitz turned around and cradled his arms and waited as the nurse gently placed his son in his arms. He smiled and kissed his forehead.

"Hey little guy, it's been a long day hasn't it."

"Have you given him a name?" the nurse asked.

"No, my wife wants to name him Luca but she changes her mind so frequently that I don't want to start calling him anything and then she changes her mind when she wakes up."

Fitz looked down again, observing his son's features. He had little flecks of short golden brown hair scattered across his head. His eyes were closed but he was still fidgeting so Fitz knew he was awake. The thing that most stood out to Fitz were his fat cheeks and little dimpled chin.

"Does the fact that he was born at 37 weeks affect him, he seems fine?" Fitz turned and asked the doctors.

"No, he was at what we call 'term' which means he could've come at anytime and he would have been perfectly healthy which is why we decided to go ahead which the c-section even after your wife was breathing. He's 8 pounds and 3 ounces, which is large, had he stayed in the womb for another 3 weeks he would've been born at around 9 pounds."

"What happened?"

"When she was up briefly-"

"When was she up?"

"Just before we began performing the c-section, she faded quickly after we put her under anesthesia."

"So she hasn't seen the baby?"

"No."

Fitz nodded, "Okay. so what happened?"

"That's the problem, we don't know. When we spoke briefly she told us she'd had a migraine, based on her medical history, we know she has had problem with severe migraines but in my medical career, I've never seen a migraine severe enough to trigger cardiac arrest and it appears that is what happened here."

"Wow cardiac arrest- what are the chances she could have died from what happened today?"

"Very high, if she had not been given medical attention so quickly I'm afraid she and the child wouldn't have been so lucky," one of the doctors responded.

"What are the chances of this happening again?" Fitz asked.

"We don't know-I can't stress to you how rare this is- that's why he made the decision to perform the cesarean, we couldn't risk another episode with the child still inside her."

"What does that mean- if we don't know when it's going to happen again, how can she go home?"

"She can't, we have to keep her under observation-we can't chance this happening again until we know what's going on, especially if she's home alone and can't call for help."

"NO- I agree 100%, we need to know what we're dealing with here, I've seen a lot of her migraines but it's never been this bad."

"Do you know how often they occur, that can give us a sense of when next to expect one."

"Before she was pregnant she'd have maybe one or two every fortnight, after she got pregnant they completely stopped until today."

"Okay, we're still running tests and we'll also need to speak with her once she wakes up to go over all the symptoms she faced and that will give us a better idea as well."

"When will she wake up?"

"About 2-3 hours."

"Okay."

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Fitz called.

Tom opened the door, "Sir, your son is here, should I send him in?"

"Yes, of course."

Tom nodded and stepped aside allowing Gerry to enter.

"We'll give you some time but the baby nurse will stay."

"Of course, no problem, thank you for all your help today."

"You're welcome Mr. President," both doctors said.

The doctors walked out and moments later Gerry walked in.

"Dad?"

"Gerr, come look at your brother."

"He's born? What? Wasn't he suppose to be due at like the end of the month. What the heck?"

"They did an emergency c-section."

Gerry walked over quickly and stopped in front of Fitz and stared down at his baby brother then Olivia then back to his brother.

"Is Olivia okay?"

"Yeah, she is, for now at least, the doctors are monitoring her."

Gerry smiled, "he's so cute dad, I can't believe she gave birth already?"

"I can't believe it either."

"He's fat, can I hold him?"

"Sure, do you know how to?"

"Yeah dad, I held Ella when she was a baby you know."

"Oh yeah right-okay, sit right there let me give him to you."

Gerry sat on the chair against the wall and cradled his arm and waited as Fitz placed his brother into his arms gently.

"He's so fat but small at the same time, he's like a chubby little teddy bear or something."

Fitz chuckled, "yeah, he's pretty big." Fitz turned to the nurse, "how long was Olivia awake?" he needed to know everything that happened, since he wasn't there to witness it.

"For just about 2-3 minutes."

He walked back to Olivia and caressed her cheek.

"I'm sorry, I didn't get your name?"

"Sarah."

"Okay Sarah, what did she say after she was awake? Tell me as much as you can remember."

"At first, she said she was dizzy and asked what we were doing?" Sarah responded.

"What did you respond?"

"Well, the doctor told her she had cardiac arrest and that they were going to perform an emergency c-section."

"Okay, what else?"

"She said that she had a migraine and the she said something else but it wasn't legible but that was when the anaesthetic began to kick in."

"Then?"

"She asked for you and said that you needed to be there when we performed the surgery, we told her that you were in the hall and that we would get you as soon as we knew the fetus was safe and then she said to tell you that it was a girl then she drifted to sleep."

Fitz smiled.

"Dad what's his name, have you decided?" Gerry asked,

"No, you know Olivia was really indecisive about it, I don't want to start calling him a name and then she changes her mind."

Gerry laughed and kissed his brother's forehead.

"He's so cute, he gets it from me," Gerry teased.

"Yeah, he looks just like you when you were born, I remember precisely."

Fitz took Olivia's hand and kissed it.

"Has the baby been fed as yet?" he asked the nurse.

"We wanted to wait so he could be breastfed, that's what your wife requested in her birth plan with her ob/gyn."

"Yeah, she really wants to breastfeed," he paused, "what about my son, did he cry once you took him?"

"He screamed, trust me, he's gonna be a crier."

Fitz walked back over to Gerry and stretched for the baby and Gerry gently placed him back in Fitz's arms. He sat on the chair next to Gerry, rocking his baby boy slowly. He was counting down until Olivia woke up, if the nurse wasn't in the room, he probably would have tried waking her.

They sat quietly, fascinated by the newest addition to their family until there was another knock on the door.

Before Fitz could call, Cyrus opened the door.

"Fitz, why didn't you tell me she gave birth, the doctors told me she was okay they didn't tell me she gave birth?"

"Sorry, I got caught up," Fitz said, still looking down at the little body in his arms.

Cyrus walked in and closed the door behind him.

"How is she?" he asked.

"She should be waking up soon."

"What did you name him?" Cyrus asked.

"I'm waiting until Olivia wakes up."

"Okay well I hate to be the one to bring it up but the press is going crazy, actually everyone is going crazy, they want to know if she's okay?"

"I don't want to release anything until she wakes up."

"Okay but the redhead and her other friends won't stop calling."

"Call Abby and put her on speaker."

Cyrus pulled out his phone and dialed Abby and once it started ring he put the phone on speaker.

"Cyrus, any news?" she asked frantically.

"It's Fitz, I'm just calling to let you know everything is okay, Olivia and the baby are okay, they're resting."

"She gave birth?" Abby yelled.

"They gave her an emergency c-section but she's okay? She should be up in a couple hours."

"Goddammit- this is why I can't be all the way in New York, I get off work in a couple hours I'm gonna jump on a plane or train or whatever and try to get there as fast as I can."

"Abby- you don't have to do that?"

"Are you crazy-I'll be there soon."

Abby hung up.

"It's almost like she's Olivia mother, father, sister and husband all rolled in one," Fitz said, slightly annoyed. He really just wanted alone time with Olivia once she woke up. He wanted it to be him ,Gerry and their new baby once Olivia woke up; not him, Gerry, the baby, Abby, Harrison, Stephen, Elliot and Kamaya, all of whom are going to want to hold the baby and pass him around like a football. He tried not to dwell on it because he'd only get more annoyed and also because he knew it was selfish to want to have them all to himself. Instead he spent his time rocking his son and conversing with Gerry and the nurse, asking her basic questions about childcare.

After a couple hours, the baby was sleeping and he finally convinced himself to step away for a few minutes to make arrangements with Tom to deliver some items for the baby and Olivia since they'd be staying at the hospital for a while. He also instructed that they delivered food even though the nurse said Olivia wouldn't be able to eat for another 6-7 hours, he wanted it to be available to her when she was hungry and could eat.

As he was standing outside, speaking with his chief of staff and Tom, Gerry opened the door.

"Dad, Liv's up," he yelled.

Fitz turned without another word and rushed into the room. He found Olivia sitting against the pillows on her bed, smiling, cradling a newborn baby boy in her hands. The nurse Sarah was standing directly beside her, as if she was ready to take the baby at any moment.

His heart dropped, somehow he felt both extreme happiness and devastating sadness.

"Fitz," she called softly, stretching her hand out towards him.

Fitz took two strides over to her and held unto her hand and kissed it and then leaned down and kissed her sweetly on the lips. He kissed her again and looked down at his newborn son in her arms.

"Isn't he just gorgeous," she said with a smile.

Fitz kissed his forehead and smiled, "we made one good looking kid," he confessed as he teared up.

"Oh Fitz," she reached for him again and kissed him, "I'm fine, we're both fine, you're the one who said you wanted him to come early?"

"I did, didn't I?"

It was always awkward for Gerry to see them like that. He liked that his father was happy but sometime he felt excluded.

"Eww- dad stop the crying."

"I'm not crying, you're crying," Fitz quipped.

Olivia smiled, she was afraid to laugh with her newly stitched abdomen.

Sarah, the nurse, decided to intervene, she had been on the verge of helping Olivia nurse the baby when Fitz entered the room.

"Olivia, we were going to nurse remember, he's been waiting for you."

Olivia smiled, "yes, I'm so excited."

"It's going to be slightly painful."

"It's okay," Olivia replied, "Gerry can you give me a few minutes alone, unless you want to get flashed by your stepmom?"

"No, please no," he stood up, "I'll be outside, I'm gonna buy some stuff from the vending machine and talk with uncle Cy."

Gerry stood up and headed out, closing the door behind him.

"Okay, so Mr. President, we'll need your help, since she had the cesarean, we can't have the baby pressing on her stomach, so we'll need to hold the baby to the side, come over this side, let me show you."

Fitz walked over quickly and watched as the nurse proceeded to instruct him how to help Olivia hold the baby. Once the baby was in position, Fitz helped Olivia untie the strap of her hospital gown and pulled it down revealing her breast. She slowly slipped it in the baby's mouth. It took him a little while to latch on but once he got the hang of it, he held onto it and sucked.

"Our boy is doing good," Fitz complimented as he caressed his head and then he remembered the whole naming issue, "Olivia what's his name?"

She smiled, "Finn."

"Really?"

"No, it's Noah."

"Okay, I like Noah."

"Sorry, I meant Luca."

"Olivia."

"Okay," she said with a smile, "it's Noah."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I've always been sure."

"Okay-switch him to the other breast," the nurse said.

Fitz helped her undo her other strap and switched Noah to the other breast.

"Ouch," she said softly.

"Does it hurt?" he asked.

"Yeah, a little, the morphine helps though, it's not too bad."

"Pretty soon you'll barely be able to feel it," the nurse added.

Fitz sat by the bed, watching Olivia breastfeed until Noah fell asleep on her chest. The nurse attempted to take him from Olivia and place him in the trolley but Olivia stopped her.

"No, I want him to sleep here."

The nurse hesitated, "okay."

"Actually, can I have a few minutes alone with my husband."

"Uhm, okay, I'll be outside, just call me if you need anything."

"Of course, thank you."

The nurse left the room and closed the door behind her.

"So, how are you?" Olivia asked as she ran her hands up and down Noah's back.

"I'm just happy, so many things could've went wrong but everything went right and I'm grateful but I'm also terrified because what are we going to do the next time it happens, what if you're alone or not close enough to the hospital to get there in time-"

"We'll figure it out together, what happened today was an anomaly."

"I don't think so Olivia, I really don't' think so and you shouldn't treat it as such."

"Look Fitz-"

"-Before you try to tell me it's okay or we'll fix it can you at least tell me what happened?"

"I don't know, as I was standing there I felt pain sort of shoot up my spine and then it stopped for just a few seconds and then my fingertips went numb and I felt dizzy and then I felt the pain in my head and I fell, I remember seeing your face, you were calling my name, I don't remember anything after that until I heard the doctor yelling over me and woke up, I felt hazy, I guess it was from the anesthetic and then I blacked out again."

"How bad was the pain?" he asked.

"It was bad but it was quick."

Fitz ran his index finger down Noah's smooth brown hair.

"I'm scared as shit," he admitted.

"Me too-"

Gerry opened the door interrupting their conversation.

"The nurse said you finished breastfeeding, can I come back."

"Of course-" Olivia wiped her eye and smiled.

Gerry walked in partially, leaving the door open; "dad the food is here and the aides brought the clothes and stuff and also uncle Cy said he released the statement to the press on Olivia."

"Okay, just tell the aides to drop the food and clothes on the sofa over there," Fitz replied.

"Fitz, you know I can't eat right, not for another 5 our so hours."

"I know but it's here for you whenever you can eat."

"Okay, and also you can tell the nurse she can come back," Olivia said.

"Okay, I'll be right back."

"Thanks Gerr," Olivia said..

"Do you want me to take him," Fitz asked.

"No, no, no, I'm going to be selfish, I just want to hold him, you had your turn," she teased.

"Okay, I'll let you live for now, I held him for a few hours while you were sleeping."

"Was he good?"

"Oh yes, he didn't make a sound, he just laid with his eyes closed until he fell asleep, I still haven't seen his eyes and I'm still mad I didn't get to see you give birth."

"Oh please, you have passed out the second you saw them cut into my stomach."

"Yeah, I would've been on the floor."

Olivia smiled, she was careful not to laugh because of her stitches.

"I love you Fitz and I truly want you to know that this will all work out, okay? I don't want you worrying."

"Okay," he said reluctantly.

"Say 'you love me too'."

"I love you too," he said with a smile.

"Kiss me."

Fitz leaned down and kissed her.

"Kiss our baby."

Fitz kissed Noah's head.

"We'll be fine, say it."

"We'll be fine," Fitz repeated.

"Good," Olivia said with a smile.

* * *

END.


End file.
